


A Finger's Width

by orphan_account



Category: youtube - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:29:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Anti and Dark go back farther than Jack and Mark know. Both with deep cuts only half healed and waiting for infection, the growing tensions loom dangerously over everyone's shoulders. Maybe it's not a good idea, but Jack and Mark are going to face it together.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach/Sean McLoughlin, Septiplier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

The wind blew soothingly through Anti's hair, the pale green glow from his one bright eye the only light apart from the moon high above. It was just barely considered chilly out. The sounds of the lake washing up against the bank surrounding it calmed him, and he took in a deep breath. The scent of dry air and stagnant water filled his nose, and he heard the faint chirps of frogs in the distance.

This was one of the few moments where Anti found himself at peace. Like everything had decided to fit together and work in perfect synchronization. The rhythmic beating of his heart didn't bother him now, and yes, he did have a heart. Some may not believe him if he were to claim so, but there was no disputing the fact. It was right there in his chest. Always beating. Even if he wished for all hell that it would stop and never start again, or even to pause for a single moment and give him a second of silence.

That would never happen, and he knew it. The more he thought on it the more frustrated he grew- there was no reason for a heart in a creature like himself. A monster of the night, shrouded in darkness and mystery, deadlier than anything a helpless human could imagine, but with a heart hidden beneath the pale flesh of his chest. It was a stab at his preternatural being, a link between him and humanity. One he hated desperately. One that beat on, mocking him in all its glory.

But now was not the time, and so he cast all thoughts from his mind. Feeling the air leave his lungs, he looked into the sky and closed his eyes. This was where he felt most like himself. Alone, in the dark, surrounded by the night. This was his home, if he were to have one, for he was indeed a free spirit and liked to believe nothing could really contain him at all. Even if Jack tried his best. He didn't know Anti was here, after all.

He took a few steps forward and sat, legs pulled up to his chest, near the edge of the water. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees, staring into the deep darkness of the lake before him. The blurry green glow of his silhouette shone back in the reflection, in the midst was a single green eye staring back at him. The darkness of the night filled him and swirled around his insides, twisting him into something of a nightmare, of such he was not entirely far off of.

And then he wasn't alone, pink intermixing with green in the water's surface and a pair of bright pink eyes glowing a foot above him. He knew who it was, and it did nothing to change his position. He was aware of the crunch of footsteps and the being he knew well took its seat beside him. Not a word was uttered, the quietness cherished between the both of them.

Their eyes met in the depths of the water, and an understanding passed over them. Serenity was a thing lost by the two, and it was a rare occurrence for them to share the likeliness. There they sat, unmoving, until dawn turned the edges of the horizon a light orange and they both knew what was to come. Anti let out a sigh and for the first time since his arrival faced his companion of sorts.

Dark had blood red hair, contrasting against his own dark green, and glaring pink wings. A sense of longing filled Anti at the sight of them, and he turned his head down and back once again. The other placed a hand on his arm, but Anti surged upward at the touch and sent him a glare. There were boundaries between the two, not to be crossed as the light passed over the sky. The lake took back on its blue hue and day begun. The sun hung loosely above the trees, bringing to them a light so bright they covered their eyes and turned their backs.

A glance and a pause was all they gave to each other, before their departure separate ways, gliding on the wind back to their homes. Thoughts of the night slipped from Anti's mind as he caught sight of his house and the outline of a figure in the bedroom window. As the shadow disappeared, he swooped in through the window he had left open and stopped under the dim kitchen light. A familiar voice drifted faintly in through the kitchen's threshold.

"Well, no, but when do I ever see him? If he doesn't want to be seen, he isn't going to be. Hell if I knew what he spent half his time doing... yeah, I know, but... Mark, come on they hate each other, you know this. Put it out of your mind for now." The voice faded completely as its owner moved further into the house's living room.

Anti moved to the cabinet and pulled out a glass cup, then filled it up in the tap. He didn't entirely need anything humans called necessary, but it wasn't like he couldn't drink water, or eat dinner every once in a while, or sleep at night if he wanted to the pass time. It would help him heal, anyways, and let his body catch up with his brain because sometimes he really did need to replenish his energy. He even spent time showering, which was actually kind of necessary, because in this body he tended to get greasy hair and sweaty pits.

This time, however, he simply wanted his presence to be known without having to announce it explicitly. Which is why it was no surprise when Jack appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame. Anti kept his back to him, purposely not acknowledging him. Anti threw his head back and chugged the water he had just poured, then finally turned to face the man still staring at him. He had his head cocked to the side and was examining Anti curiously, a small smile playing on his lips.

"You've been up to something," he said, breaking the silence with his Irish accent. Anti's lips curled upward into what could best be described as a sneer, but was the equivalent of a smile to him. He didn't answer Jack, but pushed past him and walked towards the stairwell. A hand on his shoulder halted him in his path, and he turned his head in the slightest direction towards it.

"I know you well enough to know your love of anything dangerous, but don't go hurting yourself again, okay?" Anti said nothing once more, thrusting his hand upward to clamp around Jack's arms and digging his reddish claws in lightly. It was a warning and they both knew it: 'Don't touch me, and don't tell me what to do'. Anti faced forward and made his way up the old wooden staircase, not one step creaking under his feet.

Tormenting Jack had become one of his favorite past times, because in all honesty, perhaps from the deepest part of his unwanted heart, Jack was the only person he could tolerate on this earth. He was, in fact, his basis, the only reason he was here in the first place. They were two halves of the same being to an extent, formed together at birth though far, far apart. He was what Anti was designed after so that the two looked practically the same save a few minor differences. It's easier to picture the two as brothers, with an unbreakable bond and understanding of the other surpassing all else, but not a touch of lust within it.

It was in his nature to want to cause everything pain, and though he wouldn't dare to hurt Jack (on purpose of course), he couldn't stop himself from harassing him. Especially when he pushed things like so. He knew that there was no way of stopping Anti. Nothing could be done to stop the creature, and part of which fell to the fact that he rarely knew what he was going to do himself. He was prone to impulsiveness, and no matter how many times he found himself aching on the ground beneath another's foot he couldn't stop this part of him. It was ingrained too deeply in him to ignore, the constant call from the abyss to leap for the dollar in front of his face only to find it being whipped past him by an invisible fishing line.

Anti pushed the door to his room open with the flat of his hand. His bed lay untouched, having not been used for days. His room always held an odd vibe somewhere between that of a perfectionist and a college dorm, with certain specific items sat out of place. The space was average sized, perhaps bigger than most considering the size of the house itself, and held very few items. A large wooden desk sat in the corner and a heavy set of drawers in the middle before his bed, which was darkly colored and musty. In fact those two words could be used to describe the entire atmosphere of the room itself.

He was not one for decor, besides the few pictures he had taken a liking to, hung high on his walls. Of course, Jack didn't approve of them- he claimed the eyes followed him and was mildly upset when Anti let slip that he had taken them directly from the store wall and not bothered to leave anything in return. Jack had spent three weeks going back and forth on whether or not to go down and pay for them or give them back, but in the end he figured the deed was done and he didn't really have the money to spare for it all anyway. In any case, Anti adored them.

Anti shut the door behind him, ambling forward until he had reached the desk and looked down, his eyes had caught the amiss sheet of ripped paper from his very moment of entrance. It was hard to miss such a stark color within the room so devoid of light. He did have a window, but its only use to him was for escaping whenever he felt the need to or as a way in when he so chose. It was currently covered by an ugly, moth bitten curtain he hadn't thought to get rid of yet. He never bothered to lock it either, because what need had he for safety, and who could possibly threaten him? Well, he could think of one person.

He picked up the paper and unfolded it slowly, opening up what he had now seen as a letter. It was actually addressed to him, oddly enough.

_"Dusk. Barn."_

To the majority of the world, it would hold very little meaning at all. Yes, it was a meeting of some kind, but with two words to it, what was there to decipher from? That, supposedly, was a point the writer had taken great care to put in place. It was a meeting of secrecy, meant for the glowing eyes of two and two only. Anything but those would mean cancelation.

Anti studied the message for far longer than it took him to read the thing. He could have thought all day about what he ought to do, but as mentioned he has an affinity for spontaneity, which led him to a bout of anger and the shredding of the paper between his claws before he calmly dropped the remains to the floor. There was no decision to be made. What he did depended solely on how he felt in the moment, and that was nothing he could prepare for or desired to waste time thinking about.

A small voice in the back of his mind (one that was just as familiar as it had been earlier this morning) reminded him of the consequences he could face, but like most things he chose to ignore it. The only thing he considered worth listening to was his own impulses, of which he treated as almost sacred.

He heard the unmistakable clank of cutlery from the kitchen and smiled. The tranquility of the night had worn off, and he felt the overwhelming need to cause trouble, if only to deal with some of the boundless energy he held within him. As quickly and quietly as he had come up, he returned back down the stairs to the kitchen, where he found Jack making breakfast. The man was humming to himself happily, tapping a beat on the counter as he watched over the omelet in progress. Anti slid up and turned his head to him with a grin. Jack jumped a foot to the left, then let out a bark of laughter.

"Sweet Jaysus, ya scared me, Anti!" He said.

"It's what I'm here for," Anti said cooly. He looked back down at the omelet Jack had almost finished making then back up at him.

"Hungry this morning?" Jack asked, picking his food up and placing it onto a plate, before looking back at Anti. "Good. Make your own breakfast." He left the room before Anti could argue, but Anti could not be taken so lightly. He moved silently to the area next to the door, where Jack wouldn't see him, then called out to him.

"Jack, did you do the dishes last night?"

"Well you sure didn't," Jack said from the other room.

"They aren't done."

"What are you talking about, I'm sure I remember doing them." He heard Jack place his silverware down and get up, walking towards the kitchen. Anti smirked as Jack walked in and right past him, then slipped out the same way. "See look, they're right here in the dish washer... Anti?" He looked around, confused, before a look of realization passed over his features and he sprinted out into their dining room.

It was entirely too late though, because Anti was already half way through the previously untouched omelet. Jack let out a long sigh.

"I should've known better." He ran a hand through his hair while Anti ignored him, far too busy scarfing down as much food as he could at once. Resigned, Jack turned and walked back into the kitchen to make himself a new omelet, and by the time it was made he knew Anti would be long gone, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. He wasn't always the best company.

Jack made his way into the shower after having eaten his second made breakfast of the morning. He turned the handle all the way, then backtracked slightly from 'skin boiling' to 'you may get a rash' and undressed. He stepped into the shower, one hand on the wall, and sunk into the relaxing heat that came with it. It was one of his favorite things about mornings, especially when he needed to think, and he very much did currently. Mindlessly, he began to wash himself, focusing his mind in on all the thoughts he felt swirling about.

Mark's face stuck to the front of his head, the words he had spoken over the phone ringing in his ears. He wasn't sure if what he said was true, but the implications were worrying to say the least. Mark had flashed last night- something that usually came during dreams and showed images from their sentient attachment's vision. It was fairly solid evidence, but at the same time these things were very finicky. That being said, there were certain things that could be made very obvious, such as a single green eye. Mark had said he hadn't been able to see much else other than that, only the moon overhead, as nothing else held enough light to be distinguished from the black consuming the majority of his vision.

The wave of concern washed over Jack once again when he thought of the ramification behind this proposed scene. There were literally only two things in it, but one would have been enough. One was fact. He didn't understand why they would be together when all they had shown was hate towards each other, but he knew, oh he knew, that it would not lead to anything good. Anti rarely ever saw happiness, and though that never really bothered him, apathy was not the same as misery.

Jack felt his arm begin to sting and looked down to see he had been scrubbing furiously at the same spot for the past few minutes. He quickly stopped and sighed, gently prodding the reddened area. He held a hand up to his face, trying to release his stress, but to no avail. Suddenly the water turned cold and he let out a screech. Icy drops plummeted onto his hot skin and made his whole body sting.

"Anti!" He took two steps backward and hid beneath the shower head, away from the water. In Anti's own bathroom, the demon leaped around and howled with laughter. Anyone else would have turned their water off and brought hot water back to their friend, but Anti simply spun out of the room and left the house all together. He was never one to pity and the thought of stopping never crossed his mind, not once in all his years would he go back on anything he did.

Jack heard the front door slam, and knew his shower was over. Unless he wanted to turn Anti's faucet off and hurry back or continue his shower in cold water, he would just have to get out. He did as such and quickly hopped out and grabbed his towel. 'Maybe it's a sign' he thought, and he too left the house, taking his car and driving down the beaten path towards town.


	2. Chapter 2

As night took over the sky once again Jack walked back into his home. It was dark and quiet and even having lived there for a few years he still felt slightly on edge alone at night in the place. The only light remaining in the house flowed dimly from the kitchen. The soft tap of his feet on the hardwood floor echoed after him as he made his way around the house. He found himself standing at a large window overlooking the land to the back of the property. A chill passed from his shoulders down, the black eeriness of the outdoors getting to his head. He took a soft breath in and out, then turned and walked back into his living room.

He flicked the light switch on as he walked by and moved to sit on the couch. All of a sudden a spell of dizziness overcame him and he placed a hand on the back of the chair nearest to him. His eyes squeezed shut involuntarily and an image pieced together in the blackness behind his eyes. He could barely make out the edge of a building, rotten wood. A hand gripped it in a way similar to his own currently, though the skin of this one grew red towards the fingers and sharpened into claws.

As suddenly as it had come about, the vision flickered away, leaving him bewildered and more than a little distressed. This was what Mark had been talking about- Jack had just flashed. For the first time ever he had done so without the aid of a dream, completely aware, and it had stumped him completely. His head throbbed dully and he lifted a finger to it, a look of awe still plastered on his face. He had planned on sitting down to play some video games, but now he didn't feel so well. He made his way slowly up the stairs, listening to the loud creaking under his feet.

He opened the door to his room and flopped onto his bed sideways, debating on whether or not he wanted to tell Mark. It didn't necessarily give him any insight into Anti's whereabouts, but then again how often did this happen while they were awake? He supposed he didn't actually know if Mark had ever flashed during the day. He would ask him, and tell him, tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to go to sleep and forget all about Anti's antics.

-

Anti himself, however was far from any form of sleep. He was the opposite of tired, filled with his always boundless mischievous energy, hopping from one foot to the other. He brought his claws down the wood they had been laid on, leaving marks ingrained into the surface of the shack he was stood in front of. It couldn't really be called a 'barn', it was run down as all hell and was barely ten feet in any direction. No one could really be sure how it still stood. A small, molding, shed that had become a place of significance only for the night and that was only because of the two who intended to meet here within the hour. Well, they were both present actually, just not quite aware of the fact.

Anti shook with excitement, and what could possibly have been nervousness, something altogether foreign to him. He was not often scared of anything, and definitely wasn't scared currently, but more anxious. He wasn't sure what to expect, and that sent shivers of anticipation down his spine as well as a burning rush of adrenaline.

Dark stood in the woods lining the back of the shed, watching on with a look devoid of any emotion. He observed Anti pace and cackle in the chilly night air, trying to decide if this was what he really wanted to do. It was a mere few seconds before Anti knew he was there though, having sensed his presence within the trees. He turned towards the woods with an evil grin and tilted his head to the side.

"I know you're there," he said, a certain playfulness laced within his tone and a short giggle promptly following. Presumably, Dark had already made his decision and therefore had not left, confirmed by the steps he took forward to meet the other. They shared a look made only by two demons who had always known each other.

Now a few feet away, they each took in the presence of the other, trying to decipher the current mood. Anti took in a deep breath, slowly releasing it through his nose and catching his tongue between his teeth. He began to move curiously around Dark, making a circle around the demon, who followed him slowly through the corner of his eye. Anti opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could form Dark lunged towards him and tackled him to the ground. He pinned Anti to the cool grass, hands placed firmly beside his shoulders, faces mere inches away. It took Anti a fraction of a second to recoil from the impact and return to his natural, aloof demeanor.

To say he wasn't afraid of Dark was an understatement, he just couldn't bring himself to care. Anti lifted his hand and trailed the nail of his index finger down one of Dark's arms. Dark's eyes flashed angrily at him, but the slight shiver was enough to tell Anti of the effect he was having. Anti bared his fangs and constricted his hand around Dark's arm, suddenly shoving his claws deep into his skin. He pulled apart into smoke and flew beneath Dark's grasp, reforming above his still bent over body.

Dark snarled angrily and faded out of existence while he spun around to face his companion. He took a step forward and grabbed Anti by the neck, circling the dark outline of a scar and stitches that laid there. Blood dripped from the holes in his arms, though they were already sealing themselves. Anti's eyes darkened, the muscles in his body tightening.

"You've got me, Dark," Anti said, pouting angrily. "What's next?" Dark let go and threw Anti backwards, the latter skidding to a stop on one foot. Anti crouched down, the claw on his left hand just barely touching the ground. "This was your idea." Dark let out a long breath of air and took a timid step forward. Anti took it to mean the time for fighting was over for now.

"You don't think to have fun every once in a while?" Dark's deep voice rumbled through the air, only rarely to be heard. He didn't often feel the need to talk.

"With you? I know you better than that, Dark. You don't do 'fun'. Not anymore," Anti said. Dark clenched his hand into a fist, opening and closing it to relieve tension.

"You think I'd tell you anything I was thinking?" Anti took a few soft steps closer, cocking his head to the side. He looked almost innocent, like something that actually harbored human emotions and not the cunning little devil that he was straight to the core. Through the steady eye contact they made, Dark didn't even need to hear the words, he knew what Anti was going to say even before Anti did.

"You could." And with that Anti disappeared into the night, because he too held control over this relationship and would not let Dark think for a minute he had power over him. Reaching the house this time though did not free his thoughts. The murky face still clouded his mind, confusing and angering him at the same time. He wasn't sure what to make of their encounter, but he knew better than to overlook even the smallest details in the company of such a thing. It was in their nature to place secrets within actions of little significance, exemplified perhaps in the second of pause before Anti said his last words.

Anti found himself outside the front door of his house close to two that morning, but did not enter. He didn't have it in him to leave the depths of the nights, and was certainly too full of energy to think about sleeping. So off he went again, turning from the warmth of home and drifting away into the forest trees.

Slowly, he made his way through the tall firs, brushing lightly against hanging branches. He yanked a leaf from a nearby tree and crumpled it in his palm. He could feel himself reaching that place of calm somewhere in between his unyielding wells of energy. The moon shone once again above his head, the muggy air clinging close to his skin. Memories swirled through his mind, a similar night filled with fog, an overwhelming sense of danger, and the faded pulsating of long since healed wounds. He shook his head back and forth, willing the scene from his head. The past deserved to stay in the past.

He leaned onto the trunk of a tree, dew pressing into his back and wetting his hoodie. Jack's voice floated through the air around him, calling him to remember, to realize Dark was a mistake. He ignored it. Pushing away from the tree once more, he shoved angrily through the brush. Things weren't supposed to be this complicated. It wasn't long before he had paused again, crouching down, leaning his face close to the grass. His fingers flitted forward to touch the petite petals of a Forget-Me-Not growing from the soil near his feet. He considered picking it, and almost did, but something held him back, a rare occurrence.

His fingers snapped together, nails piercing through the soft skin of the flower's petal, leaving a round hole, then he stood back up. The night was far from over, and there was something he wanted to do. He walked briskly now, loud crunches emitted from his shoes on the damp forest floor. A lone burst of wind blew through the trees, bringing him a welcome coolness apart from the humidity surrounding him. The atmosphere seemed to suck the sound out of everything, or maybe it was just the night, but Anti heard only silence on this particular journey. It set him on edge, he was a sucker for chaos and yelling and this absence of anything made him queasy.

He broke through into an outcropping within the forest, a patch of land empty save for the grass growing in it. He let out a small noise of happiness and moved to the middle before throwing himself to the ground. He sat for a moment, cross-legged, and examined the dark between the trees facing him, then laid back. His clothes clung to his skin, wet from the ground beneath him and the overall dampness of the air. Breathing in deeply from his nose, he savored the smell of wet wood and soil.

He fixated on the stars above him, the pinpricks of light that scattered across the sky like paint splattered across a canvas. Sometimes, they formed shapes in his mind, sometimes they were just so bright they captured all of his attention. He watched them for the next few hours, drawn in by the casualness by which they floated amongst the inky bath of the universe. When the moon began to sink in the sky, he panicked. It couldn't be the end so soon, no not yet. He begged the sun to stay down, to give him more time with the moon, the stars, the night, but no one would listen. He chased it down the horizon, leaping through the trees at a sprint, dodging branches nimbly. His own voice filled the quiet, yelling desperately until his voice grew sore and the sun had already begun to show its presence.

At the edge of the forest, he found himself stuck. The colors of sunrise had taken over the sky, and there in the distance was his home. Jack was there, most definitely still sleeping soundly. He let out a sigh, and made his way over to where he lived, briefly wondering if he should just make as much racket as possible so Jack would wake and keep him company. He didn't want to be annoyed with the man at the very moment though, he could save that for later.

-

Jack's alarm went off at 9:30 AM, causing him to groan and bury his face into his arm. He forced himself to roll over, facing the ceiling and wrapping both arms over his face. The hardest part of every day had to be waking up, or maybe actually getting out of bed. He wondered if Anti was home yet, turning his head to look at the sunlight pouring through his closed blinds. He supposed yes, he didn't usually stay out too long after dawn set in.

Finally Jack pushed himself into a sitting position and groaned again. He rubbed at his eyes with one hand, the other propping him up on the mattress. He slid his legs over the edge of the bed and shuffled over to the light switch, flipping it on and cursing as the light blinded him. The door next to him cracked open an inch, an eye peeking through, then slammed wide open as the person behind it saw Jack was awake.

"Jackie!" Anti's shrill shriek made Jack jump, before his eyes adjusted to the light and he noticed who it was in front of him. Anti hopped around Jack excitedly, then bounded out of the room cackling wildly. Jack heard him banging and crashing all the way downstairs. He let out a sigh, a small smile behind his annoyed facade. He followed Anti down the stairs, making much less noise, and into the living room. Anti rolled around the floor, tossing a small fabric doll he had found into the air. When he noticed Jack walk in, he surged up from the floor and grabbed the man by his shoulders.

"You slept in! Sleepyhead. Anyways, what are you up to today? I'm so bored," Anti said into his face, shifting from foot to foot while trying to remain still for more than a few moments.

"Fuck Anti, I just woke up, give me an minute. And I did not sleep in, this is the same time I wake up every day." Anti snorted and pushed backwards, throwing himself down on the couch, an arm laid dramatically over his face.

"But I've been waiting forever. C'mon, please, lets do something!" Anti said, his words slurring together from how fast he was trying to get them out. Jack walked past him into the kitchen, but Anti scurried off the couch and followed him, jumping onto the counter as Jack pulled a glass out of the cupboard.

"Since when have you relied on me for entertainment? Just go do whatever it is you do when you leave the house," Jack said, turning the tap on and filling his glass.

"No, no, no I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Anti thought for a moment.

"I just can't," he said pleadingly. Jack scoffed at him, drinking the water in his glass. "Fine, if you won't hang out with me I'll just go wreak havoc on everything in a hundred mile radius."

"Yeah, right. You know, Mark lives within a hundred mile radius," Jack said.

"So what?" Jack raised his eyebrows at that. Anti ducked his head, mumbling under his breath.

"Alright." Jack said, placing his empty cup in the sink. "What did you have in mind?" Anti's head snapped up, an evil grin spreading across it, before he hopped off of the counter and made a break for the door.

"Better hurry, Jacko! I might leave you behind on accident," he called over his shoulder, slipping out the front door and leaving it wide open. Jack took a deep breath, cursing himself for playing right into his hands, then followed Anti out the door.

"Where are we going?" Jack said, walking quickly behind Anti. Anti was practically running down the road that led from their house to town. Anti only laughing madly up ahead and ran on, the wind carrying it to Jack's ears. Jack shook his head, why had he done this, again? "ANTI." Finally, the wild creature slowed down, glaring angrily at Jack for raining on his parade.

"What?"

"What are we doing?"

"I dunno." Anti smiled. Jack gave him an annoyed look.

"Really? You don't know."

"Nope. Wanna walk to Mark's?"

"No way, we are not walking all the way into town just to see Mark, and since when do you even like him?"

"What, you don't wanna see your boyfriend?" Anti said, waving his hands about mockingly. He turned and began walking again.

"He is not my boyfriend. You get close to someone when you have this weird thing in common," Jack said, crossing his arms and huffing before chasing after Anti again.

"Like what?"

"Like you, idiot. I have you, Mark has Dark. We both have some freaky demon following us around."

"It looks like your following me, to be honest," Anti said, sass seeping from the permanent grin on his face.

"God, I hate you."

"I could say the same, Jackaboy." Anti skipped forward, Jack following behind, not really knowing where they were going but not bothering with asking again. A few minutes of silent walking passed, then Anti made a sharp turn and began to push past bushes into the thick forest by the right side of the road.

"Anti?" Jack said, watching as he disappeared into the trees. He quickly followed, moving some branches aside and looking around for him. The other was maneuvering through the trees before him like it was second nature, not acknowledging Jack in the slightest. "Fucker does know where he's going."

"I can hear you," Anti said, still not looking back. Jack shook his head, then followed in the makeshift path Anti had been making for himself. He looked around at the mossy tree trunks, taking in the atmosphere as they walked. Gradually, the hanging vines grew thicker around them and Anti was forced to use his sharp claws to cut through them. The forest was thickening around them and it set Jack on edge. The dense plants above their heads let little light through, and suddenly Jack found he had to squint to make out Anti just a few feet in front of him.

"Anti, where are we going?" Jack asked, but was met with no answer, which was really quite unsurprising at this point. Jack's breathing was becoming labored, he was not accustomed to this much walking after all and it was a warm day. Sweat soaked through the tight places on his shirt, and he moved his hand up to his forehead to wipe the dripping beads from his hairline.

At last, they reached the clearing Anti had been looking for. He grinned excitedly and turned around for the first time since they had gone into the woods. He was surprised to see Jack so far behind him and frowned, wringing his hands in front of him.

"What are you waiting for, slow poke, we're here!"

"Where's here?" Jack asked, puffing a little between words.

"Are you out of breath? You're so out of shape." Anti laughed madly, amused at Jack's small amount of endurance.

"Shut up." Jack stepped up next to Anti and peeked into the small grassy area they had stumbled upon, or not so much stumbled as Jack was certain now that Anti had known exactly where they were going the entire time. Anti had brought them to what looked like a statue of sorts, or maybe it was a ruin? Jack wasn't certain what he was looking at, but it appeared to be a rectangular column made out of old stone and extravagantly engraved with what he could only assume was some kind of ancient language. The treetops thinned out overhead, making room for a single beam of golden light to fall over the thick grass. The whole place held an odd vibe to it that he couldn't place.

"What is this?" Anti turned his head to face Jack and winked, then walked forward so he stood a foot from the center of the rune. Jack broke through the tree lining, making sure to stay close to the edge of the clearing. He didn't quite trust Ant not to put him in harms way.

"umbrae, scio te bene. fer quis hic iacet mihi," Anti said, looking intently into the ground before the column.

"Oh, so fancy," Jack said. Anti snapped his head up and glared at him.

"noli dicere," he said, then looked back. Jack opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a clawed hand breaking through the soil in front of Anti. The hand bent forward and slammed down onto the ground, clenching onto the lose dirt. A moment later another arm exploded the space next to the first, doing the same motion. The two arms worked together to push down and lift what was attached to it upwards. Crumbling dirt shook free as a small, gnarled body was birthed from the ground before Anti, who hadn't even batted an eyelash.

The small creature had the appearance of a goblin or something, Jack had no idea. He had been under the impression that demons were the worst thing he had to worry about, but here stood an entirely inhuman( and frightening despite its small body) being within a few miles of his own house.

"Weary traveler, why have you waken me?" The grumbly voice of the thing said, staring up angrily into Anti's face. Anti stood still, flexing his fingers eagerly.

"I am not weary," he said. The thing thought for a moment.

"But that one is," it said, obviously referring to Jack, but not moving a muscle. Jack felt his heart rate pick up at the acknowledgement and swallowed nervously. He wanted nothing to do with this.

"Yes." Anti smiled wickedly.

"What be it, demon?"

"Oh, no. Not him." Anti shook his head calmly, to Jack's intense discomfort. What was happening here? "I just thought I might let you know of a creature of your own passing through your territory this afternoon. Farewell." The thing's eyes darkened and it grumbled lowly under its breath.

"That's so? Well, then. Be gone now, demon, leave me to it." The thing then turned around briskly and waddled away on its chubby legs to disappear within the woods. Jack was so caught up in watching it, he didn't notice Anti walk up to his side and jumped at the sight of him so close.

"What the fuck, Anti?" Jack said, practically shouting at him. "Was that a leprechaun?" Anti laughed.

"No, you dumbass, it was a Pooka. And you might want to keep your voice down," he said.

"What why?" Jack heard the unmistakable rustle of branches from across the clearing and stiffened. "What was that?"

"Calling upon dark magic awakens all sorts of creatures, Jack. I'd suggest you hurry home," Anti said, looking Jack in the eyes once more before vanishing into a wisp of smoke and green light. Anti flew away from Jack, leaving him alone in the terrifying forest. Jack whimpered anxiously, then turned on his heel and made a run for it back the way they had come, thankful for the fact that Anti had damaged so many trunks on the way here and it wasn't hard to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack woke up at 12:15 AM to the sound of his name being called. He cracked an eye open slowly, unsure if he had actually heard anything or not. A few minutes passed and he closed his eyes again, then he heard it. His eyes snapped open, his heart racing, and he sat up in his bed. He searched around the room for a sign of anything, what he wasn't sure, maybe Anti hidden in the shadows, though it hadn't sounded like him.

"Anti?" He said into the darkness. There was no response, and he was fairly sure anyways that it wasn't him.

"Sean," the voice said, beckoning him. He looked to the window, where he had discerned it was coming from, and got out of bed. There was nothing outside of the house that he could see, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see much. The calling became more frequent, begging him to step outside. Jack walked out of his room and down the hallway, turning lights on as he went and pausing before the stairs. He laid a hand on the railing and listened, frozen in place. He shivered when he heard the voice again, and continued on down the stairs.

He walked up to the window in his door, reaching over and turning the porch light on before peeking out. He thought he caught a glimpse of yellow eyes from the shadows outside of the light's reach, but if he had they weren't there any more. He swallowed nervously, and took a few steps back. He clenched his hands into fists and took a deep breath, listening to the soothing sound of his name. A gust of air and a flash of green flew past him, Anti forming in front of the door and facing Jack. He stood with his feet spread apart, knees slightly bent, teeth bared.

"Do not leave this house," he said, snarling for good measure, then turned, unlocked the door, and closed it behind him. Jack stared into the wood of the door, stunned and feeling a little dreamy still.

"Sean. Come outside, Sean. Please! Sean, come here." The voice had grown significantly more desperate in its attempts to lure Jack to it. Jack shook his head and stepped even further away from the door. This time the voice was met with another.

"You don't touch him." Anti's voice was muffled by the walls of the house, but the anger in it was still evident.

"You're a liar!" The voice said, almost like a shriek. Jack ran over to the windows overlooking the porch, trying to make out what was going on. The voice calling his name had stopped. He could see Anti on the edge of the porch, in front of the stairs, and from the looks of it, he had his sights on something out there. He watched as Anti screeched and leapt off the porch, all but disappearing into the darkness. He held his breath as he heard the sounds of a fight, but couldn't see the outcome.

Then Anti stumbled backwards into the ring of light caused by the porch light, and his opponent followed him, closing in quickly. Jack gasped when he saw that Anti was fighting a horse, dark in color with piercing yellow eyes and a wild mane. It had an surprisingly sleek coat and huge hooves. As Jack watched it looked directly at him, seemingly into his soul, then reared up and came down onto Anti, who slid to the side and raked his nails down its belly. The horse didn't even flinch, and within seconds what could have been a detrimental wound had healed over.

Anti cursed under his breath and dodged another round of hooves aimed at his head. One hit him and sliced open a long gash into the flesh of his upper arm, gushing blood immediately. Anti cried out in pain and grabbed onto the wound, trying to stop the bleeding while still moving away from the dangerous creature trying to kill him. Jack pressed up against the window, latching onto the blinds and letting out a sound of anguish. Then, as suddenly as Anti had appeared in front of the door, another appeared a few feet away from him, dropping from the sky in a flurry of pink. Jack's draw dropped completely to the floor as he watched Dark fall into step with Anti, fighting on his side for once.

Dark shifted into the form of a dark hawk, flying into the air and distracting the creature as Anti took on the form of a cougar. Anti moved quickly, now abandoning the wound on his arm and jumping for the creature with both claws. Together they injured it enough to slow its healing and apparently make it think twice about this decision. The horse reared up one last time, then spun around and sped away into the night. Anti panted heavily, tripping over his feet and falling into the wall of the porch. He leaned all of his weight into the wall, both palms pressed into the wood above his head, hair hanging down into his face and sweat droplets dripping from the long strands past his vision.

Anti moved back into his human body and sank to his knees. Jack wasted no time in running out the door and over to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and helping him up. Anti stood up straight, but was too worn out to protest so he simply allowed Jack to sling his arm over his shoulder, tilting his head to the side to look at Dark, who hadn't moved since the fight ended. Dark stared at him briefly then flew off into the night, nothing but a wisp of pink smoke and blackness. Jack nudged Anti and began to edge forward, slowly helping Anti back into the house.

"I told you to stay in the house," Anti said, his voice breathy and strained. Jack smiled in disbelief and chewed on his lip, effectively ignoring Anti until he got him behind the door and could shut and lock it.

"What was that?" He asked.

"A Pooka," Anti said, grinning tiredly at him. That just made Jack more confused, but instead of pressing Anti for more answers he moved him into the bathroom to clean and bandage his wounds. He had a few small scrapes other than the deep cut on his arm that Jack made sure wouldn't get infected, but they both knew he would be fine. He too could heal quicker than a human, and it would take him only a few days to be completely normal again. Anti then pushed Jack off and went back into his room, actually going to sleep for once.

Jack made sure Anti reached his room okay then walked back down the stairs and sat on the couch, way too full of adrenaline to go back to sleep and scared to go back to his room for fear of being alone in the place where it had all started. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and just generally creeped out, though now he knew he was relatively safe when Anti was feeling generous. He felt better about that until he remember the shape Anti was in and sunk lower into his seat. It was going to be a long night, with all of the lights on.

-

The morning light severed through the windows of the living room, shining directly onto Jack's face as he woke up from the sleep he had eventually allowed himself to slip into. He yawned and stretched his arms, listening to his back pop and rubbing his face, stopping to pick at the crust near his eyes. He felt terrible, the restless sleep he had gotten in this awkward position on the couch had been littered with nightmares and echoes of his name. He felt even more tired as well as mildly pissed off. He heard thumps from upstairs, presumably what had woken him up, and soon Anti walked down the stairs. He looked like he had actually gotten sleep and felt better now than he had last night, though it was still obvious that he was lacking the energy he usually had. Anti caught Jack looking and winked at him.

"Sleep well?" Anti said. Jack groaned and shook his head, running a hand through his messy hair. "Oh, did somebody get scared?" Jack glared at him, but didn't respond. He got up and followed Anti into the kitchen.

"Are you gonna explain some things to me now?"

"Nope." Anti said, turning his head and giving Jack a sly smile. He began to put water in their kettle, grabbing two mugs from the cabinet. A chipped black mug for himself and the white mug with a small, floating eyeball painted onto it he knew Jack loved. Jack shoved him in the arm and looked at him expectantly. "Fine. I told you, it was a Pooka."

"Ok, dude, what the actual fuck is a Pooka?"

"Its like a small troll, or a- ah what do you call it?" He snapped his fingers and scrunched up his face.

"Goblin?"

"Yeah, well more of a gremlin. Actually I think its classified as a fairy, but like not a nice one. You know, an evil fairy. Basically it goes around and destroys stuff, destroying the countryside at night."

"Sounds like you."

"That's a compliment. Anyways, I was trying to cause trouble yesterday and we were nearing where that little guy lived so I thought 'hey let's go trick him' but it had some... unforeseen consequences."

"Uh huh. You almost got me killed."

"Hey, you should be thanking me."

"Yeah, cause you got all protective over me," Jack said, pointing a finger at him. Anti cringed and looked down. The screech of the kettle interrupted them and Anti poured the water into his cup, placing a mint teabag in it. Jack reached over and did the same, then the two sat on the counter in their kitchen slowly sipping at their tea and staring tiredly.

"There's gonna be a storm tonight," Anti said, staring out the window, eyes glossed over as if he saw something behind the window that wasn't actually there. Jack looked up at him and nodded, a moment of quiet passing over them.

"So why was it a horse the second time, then?" Jack broke the silence.

"They're also shape shifters. Usually they take on the form of a horse when they go out. They're also known for calling the people in a house by name when they want to take them." Jack stared at his feet, swinging them back and forth and bumping the wood beneath him. It had been a really weird night. There was one last part of the it left unexplained, but he didn't want to push it then.

Anti left shortly after. Once he had finished his tea he stood up and said he was going exploring. Jack knew it would help him decompress and heal quicker. He nodded and called a goodbye as Anti walked out the back door and was gone again. Jack put both cups in the sink, pausing to sigh at the dirty dishes in it, and went to his room to change.

He brushed his teeth and spit into the sink, looking up into his own face. He looked tired, that much was obvious, but he didn't look terrible. He ruffled his hair a few times before giving up and throwing on a snapback that had been lying on his drawer. He searched the floor for his favorite pair of black jeans, slid them on, and begun his search for a comfortable shirt that was at least semi-clean. He ended up with a plain grey hoodie he found hidden in his closet and took out his phone, lying back on his bed.

_Jack: Meet me at the diner for a late breakfast?_

He sent a text to Mark. Within a few minutes a reply came in.

_Mark: Yeah, how soon?_

_Jack: I'm getting in the car right now._

_Mark: Sure you are._

Jack smiled to himself and picked himself up off his bed. He took one last look in the mirror, readjusting his hat once more, then hopped down the stairs and out the door to his car. Town was only ten minutes away, so it wasn't a long drive, but he never went anywhere without music so he took a moment to plug his phone in and queue up some songs. He sang loudly and drove down the road, tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat.

Soon enough he was in front of the small diner they were lucky enough to have. He looked around quickly for Mark's car and found it with ease in the same spot he always took. Jack got out and locked his car, sticking his phone, wallet, and keys into his pocket. He walked in the door, the little bell chiming above him, and was met with a familiar pair of brown eyes. He moved into the seat opposite of Mark at their usual table and took a deep breath.

"Hey. I got stuck behind the slowest fucking person, sorry," he said.

"Oh yeah, of course," Mark said, rolling his eyes playfully and smiling happily at him. "So, what's up?"

Jack's smiled faltered for a second, of which Mark caught and immediately began to worry. "Lot's of shit to talk about dude. Been one hell of a night."

"What happened? You're okay?"

"I'm fine, just a bit spooked." Jack laughed, but Mark just raised his eyebrows. Jack explained what had happened the night before to him, trying his best to make it comprehensible with all the tangents they went off on. Mark looked slightly shocked about Jack's safety, but he knew this sort of thing wasn't that uncommon. Every few months or so Jack would come to him with some crazy new story about what Anti had done to him this time. He was glad, at least, for the fact that Dark never did anything like that to him, though for the most part Dark didn't much interact with him at all.

"Was it worse than the time you almost got eaten by a giant worm because Anti stole your hat and hid it in that cave?" Mark asked.

"Yes! It was fuckin' creepy, okay. Imagine someone standing below your window in the middle of the night calling your name."

"I think you've done that to me before," Mark said, laughing. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but instead just leaned over and hit Mark in the arm.

"Don't patronize me." They paused to order their breakfast, and Jack looked at his hands nervously. The waitress nodded before smiling and walking away, promising to be back soon. "Anti didn't, uh, he didn't... beat it on his own." Mark looked over at him with a surprised look on his face, before his eyes narrowed. He could see the answer to his own question within Jack's eyes.

"Dark?" He said softly, for confirmation. Jack nodded, watching Mark closely. Mark leaned back in his seat and mulled it over.

"I don't get it. Not in all the time we've known them have they ever shown anything but hatred for one another."

"Yeah, but if you think about it, they age just like us. There's 20 years of their lives that we have no clue about."

"You think they knew each other before?"

"I don't know I've been thinking about it. It's possible. They're born exactly like us, right? Aside from a few things like the eyes and wings and stuff. That much I've gotten from Anti, or at least from visions and shit. Well, if the circumstances were right, it would possible for them to meet the same people."

"So they were friends, just like us?"

"It's a possibility," Jack said. Mark let out a deep breath and pulled at the hair at the back of his neck.

"If that were true, what happened?"

"I don't know, but I definitely don't think they were expecting to see each other again when they were sent to us."

"What's different now?"

"Maybe it was just circumstance. Fuck, I have no idea." Jack placed his hand flat on the table away from his body. There was no making sense of it, not without the information neither demon was willing to give. Mark reached out and played with his fingers, fingertips softly brushing along his knuckles.

"Hey, its alright. Don't stress too much," he said. The waitress returned to their table and set pancakes down in front of both of them, Mark's plain and Jack's with chocolate chips in them. The two grinned excitedly and dug in, talking about much lighter subjects in between bites. It had only been a day or so since they last saw each other, but there were always things to talk about. When they had finished they got up, paid, and walked outside of the shop. They went side by side down the sidewalk, reaching Mark's car first. Mark shivered and looked around.

"I think it's gonna rain," he said.

"Anti said that too. I hope its not bad." Mark nodded absentmindedly.

"Yeah, stay safe out there."

"I'll be fine, you doof," Jack said, laughing.

"You wanna come over to my place for a bit?" Mark said.

"Yeah sure, I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Mhm, bye." Jack walked over to his own car and got in, leaning his head back on the headrest and closing his eyes. He was still really tired.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack arrived at Mark's apartment after Mark and walked in to see him rummaging under his cabinets.

"Whatcha doin'?" He said, after just letting himself in. Mark jumped a little and looked over his shoulder.

"Looking for a movie we can watch."

"It's a movie kinda day, is it?"

"Always."

"Well, what are we watching then?"

"I just got Inside Out, can we watch that?"

"Oh yeah, I never had a chance to see that." Jack nodded happily, then sat on the couch while Mark set up the movie and went to get them popcorn. He turned the T.V. on and clicked over to the DVD player, then waited for Mark. Mark brought in a bowl of popcorn and two blankets, turning off the lights and nudging the blinds shut on his way over. Jack mumbled a thanks between a handful of popcorn and snuggled down into the couch.

Halfway through the movie Jack fell asleep. It wasn't that the movie wasn't good, but he was so tired and it was so comfy- how could he not? His eyes were begging to be shut, what choice did he have? Mark didn't notice until the movie was almost over and it had gone quiet for a moment, allowing him to hear Jack's soft snores. He looked over with a wide smile on his face and sighed. He looked so comfortable, with his hands curled under his head and his feet touching Mark's leg lightly.

He waited until the movie was over to get up, moving carefully so as not to wake Jack. He thought about what to do, then decided to just let him sleep for a little while and go do some work. Jack woke up a few hours later, and opened his eyes.

"Mark?" He said groggily, looking around through blurry eyes. He sat up when he didn't see him, then got up from the couch and walked down the hallway to where he knew Mark's office was. He peeked in and, noticing he wasn't recording at the moment, walked in. Mark looked up from the chair he was sitting in and smirked.

"Hey, finally. You really knocked out," he said. Jack groaned and yawned, stretching slightly.

"Yeah it was fantastic," he said, slurring a bit causing Mark to laugh at him. "What time is it?"

"4:41." Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"Jesus, I did sleep a long time."

"Yeah, but its fine, you needed it."

"I guess, yeah. So what are you up to?" Jack asked, moving behind Mark and leaning his chin onto his shoulder.

"I'm making thumbnails," he said, turning his head to look at Jack's an inch away from his. Jack nodded his head and made a noise of acknowledgment, allowing a moment of silence to pass between them.

"What should we do now? Or should I go home?"

"Nah, you can stay if you want. I'm gonna order pizza for dinner, but I'm not entertaining you." Jack pouted at him, he couldn't just offer up pizza and then make him wait on his own. Mark rolled his eyes playfully.

"Fine, well I'm gonna take a walk I guess, since there's nothing else to do. Don't order it too late though, I need to get home before the storm."

"Alright, stay outta trouble." Jack stood up again and walked back out to the living room, making sure he had his phone and wallet before calling a goodbye to Mark and leaving the apartment complex. He didn't know where he was gonna go, he was just trying to waste time. Soon he had reached the part of town that held all the small shops, store fronts of all assortments lined the street, most of them were family owned businesses.

He walked passed a small, frilly shop filled with bath stuff, the smell of everything wafting out the door that was propped open. He paused for a minute to look in at all the colorful bath bombs encased in glass vases and the fruity bubblebath stacked perfectly on the back walls. The cashier inside gave him a smile and a wave. Jack smiled in return and continued walking, on the corner there was a homemade pizza place, and he highly considered just buying some now and bringing it back to Mark.

The video game store was on the next block over, conjoined with an old comic book shop that held more cardboard boxes of 'half-priced' comics than actual new ones. Jack wandered into the place he knew all too well and scanned the shelves for anything of interest.

"Oh hey, Jack. How've you been?" Someone said from behind him. Jack spun slowly, head first, and recognized the worker talking to him. To say he was a regular here was a bit underwhelming.

"Hey! Been pretty good, I guess, you?" Jack said, reading the name tag on his shirt, which spelled "ETHAN" in blocky letters on it. The worker, Ethan, grinned at him and nodded enthusiastically.

"Really good, actually. I think I'm quitting."

"Really?" Jack laughed.

"Yeah! I, uh, I've started this other thing that I really like and I think I may finally be able to make a living off of it." He sounded so enthralled Jack couldn't help but be happy for the boy.

"That's great, man. It's impressive to see people find what they love and be able to live off of it. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. If you can't tell, I'm kind of buzzing about it." Jack laughed.

"That's a good thing. But, while you do still work here, got any new recommendations?" Ethan thought for a moment, then leaped over the counter and walked over to a shelf near Jack. He rifled through a few rows, scanning each title with his finger and mouthing the words to himself. Finally he pulled out the game he had been looking for and let out a noise of approval.

"It's a new horror game, I haven't tried it myself, but apparently it's really good. Had a guy in here raving about it yesterday. It's weird 'cause it's multiplayer, but in a really cool way." He handed the game to Jack to look over. Jack thanked him and turned the game over in his hand, the cover showed a young guy and girl sat cross legged across from each other, smiling happily in what looked like a treehouse with very dim lighting.

Jack bought the game, thinking it would be fun to play with Mark once he got back. He leafed through the closest bin of comics on his way out, just enjoying the feel of them, then left the store finally. He walked down the sidewalk as slowly as he could hold himself back to (he was a fast walker) as a way of wasting time. He ended up just walking around the block, getting lost in his thoughts as he walked the similar streets.

In his thinking he remembered a few nights ago, when he had flashed while awake and resolved to tell Mark when he got back. He sighed and looked down in frustration, he had almost forgotten completely. He had to remember to talk to Mark about it when he got back. He wished he had a pen or something to write it on his hand with, but then again that would probably be a weird looking sentence to display. He really was starting to wonder about Anti and Dark, though. What could they possibly be up to together?

Jack was jerked from his thoughts by a soft buzzing in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and read the text he had gotten.

_Mark: Storm's supposed to roll in at 8:00. Pizza soon, then you can leave by 7:30?_

_Jack: Sounds good, do you want me to just pick some up while I'm out?_

_Mark: Ooh yes, see you soon._

Jack shoved his phone back into his pocket and turned around, heading back towards where the pizza place was. It was nearing 5:15 now and he figured it would take a bit for everything to be made and for him to get home, though he hoped he was fast enough to get it back before it got cold. He walked briskly now, his natural confident air present, and made his way to the restaurant. It was fairly crowded considering how early it was, and Jack got in the long line to order. He knew Mark would want half pepperoni, since he didn't like pineapple on pizza, the freak. But he had their order mesmerized, since they always got half and half of a large pizza to share.

After spending what felt like forever waiting behind person after person, he finally got to the front and ordered their pizza, plus a lemonade for him and a coke for Mark. Then, on impulse, he got an order of cinnamon sticks as well. He grinned evilly as he waited at one of the tables for his number to be called, feeling slightly like Anti but not nearly to the same extent.

Soon enough he had picked up the food and had begun to fast walk his way back to Mark's apartment, which wasn't actually too far. It took him a few minutes to walk all the way back, the entire time spent stressing over keeping all the food warm, and in attempt hugging the entire bag close to his body. He walked up the stairs to the apartment and opened the door, thankful it wasn't locked. He heard the squeak of a chair and Mark's feet bounding on the hardwood floor.

"Honey, I'm home," Jack called out, knowing already that Mark was on his way. Mark skidded to a stop in front of him and grabbed the bag from his hands.

"You're the best," he said, putting a hand lovingly on Jack's cheek and giggling madly at himself. Jack swatted his hand away.

"I know, you should appreciate me more." Mark scrunched up his face at him in mock anger.

"I already do! I love you," Mark said, dragging out the words. Jack laughed and walked past him.

"You love pizza."

"Hey, so do you."

"Well, ya got me there." Jack pulled paper plates and napkins out of the kitchen cabinets and put one down for each of them. Mark opened the box and placed it on the counter in between them, then noticed the box of cinnamon sticks at the bottom.

"You got cinnamon sticks?" Mark said, his face lighting up as he looked over at Jack, who nodded in return and went back to stacking pizza on his plate. "Fuck, I really do love you."

"Stop saying that," Jack said, his smile betraying him.

"Why? Can't handle the gay?" Jack snorted.

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I'm gonna keep saying it until you say it back."

"But you already know I do." Mark nodded contentedly and smiled.

"Yeah, you're right." They sat on stools opposite of each other at the island in the kitchen, cinnamon sticks laid next to a large box of pizza in between the two. Jack made a small noise of realization and stood up, walking back into the living room and plugging his phone into Mark's speakers.

"Let's get a little tunes goin'." He put on a playlist he had of chill music, which was mostly just stuff he thought Mark would like too. He walked back and sat down next to Mark, who was currently mopping up the grease from his pizza with a paper towel. Jack laughed and shook his head, even though he knew it was something he did every time.

"Stop, it's gross and you know it," Mark said, pointing a finger at him and glaring. Jack put his hands up in surrender and sat down. They both started eating and were quiet for a moment.

"So I know we've probably talked about them enough today, but there's something else I forgot about," Jack said quietly, not even thinking to mention their names, but Mark got it anyways.

"The other day- I think it was the day before yesterday- I flashed while I was awake. Like it was still dark out and stuff, but uh, yeah."

"That's weird," Mark said, thinking about it for a minute.

"Has that ever happened to you?"

"Once or twice back in the very beginning, yeah."

"Really? Do you know why?"

"I just figured it came from moments of high stress. It was always when Dark was in some sort of trouble."

"Oh? But Anti wasn't doing anything, he was just standing there, I guess? All I could really see was his hand on some sort of wood." Mark laughed and took a bite of pizza.

"He had his hands on some wood?" Jack burst out laughing and shook his head back and forth.

"You're an idiot. Come on this is serious."

"Alright, fine. But really, I don't know then. It's just another weird thing going on lately." They both fell into silence, not knowing what to say next. The subject was kind of a touchy one, since it was such an odd and important part of their lives. "Does every human have a demon?"

Jack looked up at Mark, who met his gaze curiously. "Yeah, I believe so. Most of them prefer to stay where they belong though."

"And where is that?"

"Not sure. I've always assumed it was like a parallel dimension. Its like, really similar to earth, but also different in a lot of ways. I've only seen it once in a dream and it looked weird. But, yeah, most demons don't ever meet their human."

"I guess we're just lucky then," Mark said, smiling and running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, that's one word for it."

"How do you think they get their names?"

"The same way we do, maybe? Like they just assign them random evil sounding words." Jack laughed loudly at the notion.

"What happens when they run out of words?"

"They reuse them, Mark, c'mon. We reuse names too."

"So, I'm not the only Mark on this planet?" A smile spread across his face. Jack shook his head, smiling widely back.

"But I bet you'd be the only Mark on planet demon."

"God I hope not, I really want there to be a demon out there that's just named fuckin' Mark. Like oh yeah here's Dark and Anti and over there's Murder and that's Pain. Oh him? Yeah that's Mark." He spread his arms wide, pointing at imaginary figures around the room, watching Jack giggle ridiculously at him.

"I would love that." They had both finished their meal now, so Mark got up and dumped their plates in the trash. Jack grabbed some plastic containers from one of the drawers and put the leftovers in it, placing them in Mark's fridge.

"How much shit is in your fridge, Jesus man," he said, rummaging around in the shelves and laughing at all the stupid things he had bought.

"Shut up, its better than yours, you have like two things in there."

"Yeah, well at least mine smells better."

"Oh whatever." Mark moved past him and put both hands on the counter, leaning forward and looking at Jack. Jack leaned back against the kitchen sink and looked down at his feet, then he remembered the game he had bought and looked up excitedly.

"I bought us a game," he said proudly. Mark raised his eyebrows.

"What game?"

Jack pulled him to the couch and pushed him down onto it, grabbing two controllers from where they were sat next to the T.V. and turned on their playstation. He realized he didn't have the game and walked back into the kitchen to find that he had placed it on a separate counter from where they had eaten to protect it. He grabbed the package and walked back out, putting the disk into the machine and telling Mark to set the T.V. itself up. Once everything was ready he kicked back next to Mark and looked over at him excitedly. He still hadn't told him anything about the game, and wasn't planning on it.

The opening scenes of the game began and there they sat for at least an hour, immersed in the game and it's storyline. With each jumpscare they jolted backwards and unintentionally moved closer to each other, until they accidentally knocked their elbows together and screamed. They both fell about laughing and rubbing their elbows, but without either of them noticing (they were too engrossed in the game) the clock had passed when Jack was supposed to leave and inched on. When Mark checked the clock and saw 7:46 he leapt from the couch and stood in front of Jack anxiously.

"You gotta go man, you were supposed to leave 15 minutes ago," he said. Jack smiled up at him, still leaning back comfortably into the couch.

"Calm down, dude. It's not like I had to leave then, I'll make it home fine." Mark reached down and grabbed his hand, holding it carefully and pulling Jack up. Jack bumped into his chest and put a hand on his shoulder to stop himself from wobbling, then gave a lopsided grin and stepped around him.

"Yeah," Mark said. "You'll be fine. Just go now, please? Do you wanna come over tomorrow to finish this?" Mark looked curiously into Jack's eyes, who was now standing by the door having gathered all his things. He thought for a minute then shook his head solemnly.

"I have to do work, Mark." Mark let out a slow breath and nodded. "Hey, I know. I'll come over late tomorrow night and we'll have a sleepover, okay? We can finish out the game and shit."

"Oh my god, yes. That'll be so much fun. Ok, see you tomorrow night," Mark said, babbling excitedly and pushing Jack out the door. Jack turned half his body to look at Mark, now standing just outside of his apartment.

"Bye, love you," Jack said. Mark's smile widened.

"Love you too, bye." And they parted ways once again, but never for very long. The two were not so easily separated, not unlike a certain two others they knew well.

Jack got into his car and turned his music on. It was somewhat late now and not too many people were out. He had the town roads to himself, as well as the road out to his own home, but that wasn't uncommon. It should have been dark out now, but the sky was lit up in an oddly eerie way. Everything had a green tinge to it that made it look relatively peaceful, but set Jack on edge nevertheless. There was a stillness to everything around him that made him feel like he stood out, or was disturbing something. He felt the overwhelming need to get home as fast as possible. He pressed further on the gas, kicking up to 15 mph over the speed limit, which was usual for him anyways since he had never once seen a cop on this road and who made an open road like this 35 anyways?

He watched the skyline in front of him, noticing a dark wall of clouds on the horizon. Flashes of light caught his attention every now and then. It was approaching from behind his house, and fast. He could feel the wind picking up and rocking the car, and it made him even more apprehensive. He stopped singing along to his music, concentrating hard on his surroundings. A drop of rain had yet to fall, though, and he could see the curving driveway of his house coming closer.

Once he was in the garage with the door closed, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. He was safe for now. He walked inside and over to the windows at the back of his house. It was still weirdly bright outside, except the looming darkness in the sky had halved the distance by now.

"Anti?" He called out. His voice echoed around the large house and came back to him, but he heard nothing else and grew worried again. He knew he shouldn't be, Anti would be fine no matter what. A little rain was not nearly enough to stop that one. But again he just wanted to know where he was. He sat down on his grey couch and pulled his knees up to his chest, turning on the news and checking the weather. He watched the weatherman gesture across the screen and vaguely processed the sound, it all becoming a faint backdrop to his thoughts. The man made a circular motion in the middle of the screen and Jack leaned forward, he hadn't heard what the man had said, but was now very interested.

"Yes, we do have some rotation over here, but not too much. At this point I'd like to remind everyone inside of this area within the red circle that you should seek shelter immediately. Get to your safe spots at home." It went to a commercial break and Jack blinked at the screen. He was within the red, and so was Mark. In that second lightening struck the close to the house, booming loudly and making Jack jump out of his seat. He hadn't even noticed the rain had started. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, looking longingly out the windows.

Another loud boom sounded in the same moment the front door swung open. Jack spun around, eyes wide and mouth agape. Anti flung himself within the door and slammed it shut, leaning his weight against the wood and turning the lock. Jack stood their and stared at Anti, who had bent over with his back against the door. He was soaking wet and dripping onto the floor.

"I thought you knew it was going to rain?" Anti looked up at him, eyes filled to the brim with unaltered annoyance.

"I didn't know when." Anti straightened and walked to the stairs, but before he could go further Jack called out to him.

"We're supposed to take shelter," he said. Anti didn't care how sincere he looked, he turned around and snapped at him.

"I don't care." He walked up the stairs, leaving a trail of water the entire way. He figured he would take a warm shower, he didn't care if the house fell down around him. He wiped the beads of water from his forehead with the back of his hand and reached forward. He slammed the handle as hot as it would go and sat down, legs crossed, at the side of the tub. He hooked his hands over the edge and stared tiredly at the back wall, waiting for it to be hot enough to get in. Once the spray against his fingers grew hot enough for him, he rose and stripped himself of his clothing, tossing it to the back of the bathroom floor.


	5. Chapter 5

The house they lived in was quite old, and consequently it still had a basement. Jack sat there now, legs crossed, with a battery powered flashlight in his lap. The light overhead was still on, so he didn't really need the flashlight, but it was precaution. Jack picked up his phone and looked at the open screen and his messages that were pulled up. He had tried to send a message to Mark, asking if he was alright, but it hadn't gone through. He sighed and rested his head on his hand. He hoped this didn't actually last that long, because it was terribly boring.

He could still hear the faint crashing of the rain against the walls of the house and the occasional boom of thunder from outside. He was in the process of standing up to walk around when the lights flickered twice and cut out. He stood frozen in place for a moment, then lunged for where he figured the flashlight had been placed. He fumbled around until his hands cupped the plastic and he relaxed and brought back some light to the dungeon he was trapped in. Now he could barely see anything, as he only had a small halo of light in the entire room, and it was creeping him out a good bit. It reminded him of far to many horror games he had played.

He heard a thumping from upstairs and a small growl. Not being able to see anything, he was immediately attentive. He knew it was most likely Anti, but what if that thing had come back- the Pooka. He trembled slightly at the thought and held his small flashlight out in front of him like some sort of weapon. The door to the basement slid open and he heard feet slapping against the concrete. He strained his ears, but for the life of his could hear nothing else. Jack stood absolutely still, trying to figure out where whatever it was had gone, but to no avail. Just when he let his guard slip for a single second, a voice whispered in his ear, tingling the back of his neck.

"Scared, Jackaboy?" Jack screamed and flew a foot forward, tripping and landing on his knees with one hand bracing him back from the floor. Thankfully he still had the flashlight in one hand and hadn't dropped it in the process. He glared back at Anti and huffed angrily, pushing himself back up and crossing his arms.

"Not funny," he said, injecting as much malice as he could into the two words.

"No, of course not." He shined the light onto Anti's chest, the glow from his right eye more apparent in the dim lighting.

"I thought you were taking a shower?"

"It got cold."

"That was fairly quick." It had only been a minute or so between when the power had gone out and Anti had come down. Anti shrugged.

"I don't like the cold." He moved and sat down in the middle of the room and Jack followed.

"What should we do to pass the time?" Jack said. Anti laid back on the floor, looking up at the ceiling with his arms folded under his head.

"How long's it gonna be?" He said.

"I don't know." Jack placed the flashlight in front of him, balancing so that it stood straight up and made a column of light. "What did you do today?" Anti lifted his head to look at him and show off the smirk he had taken up.

"Oh, you know. Flew around."

"Wow, so specific thanks. I didn't need to know that much detail, really." Jack rolled his eyes and motioned for him to continue.

"No, you'd think it was boring. What did you do then?"

"Hung out with Mark," Jack said, giving in.

"Uh huh. What was that you said about details?"

"What was that you said about boring?" Anti chuckled and picked at the nails on his fingers.

"We should get out more."

"You're always out."

"You know what I meant."

"Right, but that would include people other than me or Mark."

"Yeah, you know what never mind. I'm good," Anti said. The lights came on as suddenly as they had gone off and Jack stood just as quickly, thankful to have something to do. Anti didn't move at first, but stayed staring at the ceiling overhead, then he turned his head and made eye contact with Jack and stood.

"I'm gonna see what the news is saying," Jack said, and left the room after grabbing the flashlight. He poked his head out of the basement and strained to see the T.V. he had left on. Anti scoffed and pushed past him out and into the room.

"They said the worst has passed, you don't have to stay sheltered anymore," he said. Jack sighed in relief and left the basement, turning the light off behind him. Sure enough when he got to their living room the weatherman was droning on about how the storm hadn't really been that bad. Jack checked his phone and was pleased to see that his text to Mark had finally gone through and he had gotten a response.

_Mark: Are you ok? You should take shelter._

_Mark: Jack?_

_Mark: I just got your text. I'm fine, you?_

_Jack: Perfectly fine, sorry the storm was messing with my reception._

_Mark: All good, man. Good night, I'll see you tomorrow._

_Jack: Night._

Jack slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked up to see Anti headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Anti turned around and smiled.

"To bed." Jack nodded and said goodnight before going up to his own room. Anti flopped onto his bed, not very tired, but not wanting to go outside in the rain again. He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. He didn't want to stay in, but he knew it would be easier. The only thing for him to do now was sleep and he didn't particularly like sleep. He sighed and pulled himself under the covers, bringing them up to his chin. He hadn't bothered to turn the lights on when he had walked in, but somehow his lamp was on. He assumed he had left it on earlier. He reached over and flicked the lamp off and settled into bed.

He stared at the wall for a good fifteen minutes, then the ceiling for ten, then the window longingly. It took him forever to finally close his eyes and then even longer for him to shut off completely. It felt weird to just lie there and be so exposed, but the rain in the background helped to relax him and if he focused on the soft patter he found it much easier to drift off to sleep.

-

_"Hey, Dark?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Do you think our humans know each other?"_

_The two young boys, no less than the age of ten, hung their legs over the large branch of one of the big trees just outside of the Runway, where everyone flew in the morning. They were hidden behind the large statue in front of them, a smooth stone depiction of a spirit huge enough for everyone to see, no matter where they were. The sunrise in the distance framed the scene before them with pinks and oranges and blues. The one who had asked the question turned and look deeply into the others eyes, so young and naive, kicking his feet back and forth beneath him. The other looked out onto the horizon at the masses of people flying back and forth in the distance._

_The one with light green wings had asked the question, sporting as well bright green eyes and light brown hair that fell straight about his cheeks. The other had pink wings and pale eyes to match along with darker hair. Something in their demeanor hinted that they were best friends._

_"Don't be silly, Anti. That's nearly impossible."_

_"But it could happen, couldn't it?"_

_"I suppose so, but figure this... what are the chances they're anywhere near each other? You've seen how big earth is." Anti nodded disappointedly._

_"Really big. Bigger than this tree." Dark laughed airily and pushed the other sideways with his hand._

_"You keep sayin' things like that, I'll have to throw you off this tree."_

_"But, Dark, I can fly."_

_"Well then, I'll just have to chop your wings off first." Anti giggled happily._

_"You wouldn't know what to do without me," he said through a genuine smile. Dark turned his head and met his glowing green eyes._

_"Fine. You promise we'll be friends forever?" Anti gave a firm nod._

_"Forever. You won't be able to get ride of me."_

-

Anti's eyes snapped open. He threw the covers off his body and stumbled out of bed, shaking off his arms to get rid of the stiffness. It was only 5:00 in the morning, but the rain had stopped enough for him to leave and there was no way he was going back to sleep now. Not when the chance of having another dream like that was there. He closed his eyes and tried to wipe the image of his younger self from his mind. The words that had been so innocent in their time now seemed most ironic. He sniffed and wiped at his runny nose and stormed out of the room.

Of course, Jack was still deep asleep, but Anti peeked his head in to make sure. He was relieved to see Jack was alive and safe, though he couldn't figure out why. He left the house quickly, throwing his hood up and ignoring the slight drizzle over his head. The sky was still dark, but the signs of dawn had already begun to show itself. He went off in a direction opposite of the woods he usually went to, kicking his feet angrily into the ground with each step. Just seeing the two of them so young and ignorant sent fury up his back and into his veins. He shivered from the inkling of power flowing through him and his fingers twitched at his sides. He wanted to do something.

He quickened his pace for a few steps then swirled into the air and flew forward. He went until he could make out the dark outline of a farm house approaching, then curved downward and materialized in front of a sturdy looking barn on the property. It was still too early for anyone to be awake yet, and Anti couldn't stop his mischievous laugh, unable to contain his excitement anymore. His eyes landed on a wooden fencing encasing a small paddock, presumably holding some sort of livestock. He stalked over to it and laid his hand on the top of the structure. He snarled and raked his finger nails down the side of the wooden panel, leaving deep marks. Shuffling from beyond caught his attention and he grinned. Whatever was in there sensed the danger he posed.

The light of early morning began to just barely illuminate the field, and the monster terrorizing within it. He flashed back and forth, ripping and tearing whatever fell into his path, only once reaching one of the sheep running about. The blood from it spilled across the grass and mixed with the morning dew, the body itself shredded a few feet away, entrails strewn about like laundry. Anti dipped his hand into the red dye and found the scrap metal lean to located on the outer edge of the pen.

In his absence, the six other sheep took their chance to escape through the large gaps that had been made in their fence. They were set free, in more ways than one, as miles down the road a truck took one out and left it behind on the dirt. By the time a nice young lady had exited the house and skipped down the porch steps, the estate was in a state of havoc. Half of the crops lay yanked from the ground, torn pieces floating through the air. There was but one of their beloved sheep left, and not in the way they wanted, the fence itself standing in very few places. The chicken coop in the back had been knocked over and feathers littered the ground, though whether they had been lining the floor and cubbies of the coop or had been plucked anew was uncertain.

A gasp left the young girls mouth and she shouted out in horror, feeling very weak in the knees. She clamped onto the porch railing and forced herself to look away from the wreckage. The family rushed to her side, gathering around and looking off into what was left of their property. They all wondered how no one had heard a thing, and what could possibly have done this. The mother weeped into the folds of her apron and put a hand on her young son's shoulder. The youngest girl walked cautiously up to the pen and approached the sheep's carcass apprehensively.

Her father called out for her to return, but she didn't listen. Transfixed by the mutilation before her, and utterly mortified she spun around and ran back to her father's side, her hand firmly covering her mouth so as to avoid the upheaval of whatever was in her stomach. The only sign of the attacker was left on the outer wall of the covered shed; scrawled in darkened red and flaking off in the wind were the words "IT NEVER ENDS". There was nothing to be gleaned from the handwriting itself, it was just barely readable it was so messily drawn, and from the way the blood dripped the words had melded together somewhat.

There was no explanation for the claw marks and mauled sheep, it was like an air of destruction had blown through the night before, riding the wings of the storm.

-

Dark strolled out of Mark's bedroom, leaving behind the sleeping body. Mark opened his eyes wearily and turning over, always aware of when Dark was leaving, but not entirely caring as he promptly fell back asleep. Dark cracked open a window the slightest bit and slipped out of it, flying out into the cool night sky before the morning light had time to set in. Something had tugged him out of sleep and urged him to leave. It was a familiar feeling, like something that was on the tip of his tongue, but just barely out of his reach. He let his instincts guide him through the night, knowing they would lead him to whatever was bothering him.

He flew on, into the horizon, twisting about in the air and avoiding raindrops as best he could. It was a few minutes before the feeling in his stomach grew stronger and he happened across a small farm house. It took him a fraction of a second to see who was there and to drop down behind the trees across the road. Anti sped about, a flash of green light, demolishing whatever he touched. Dark wondered what they had done to him, but did not show himself. He stood in the cover of a large fir tree, tucked beneath the branches. He could just barely see as the sun began to rise.

The soft crunching of leaves from nearby sent him into a crouch, immediately alert. He narrowed his eyes into the shadows before him and caught a slow movement, but it didn't seem to notice him. He shuffled forward, careful to mask his footsteps, until he could clearly make out what it was. A sheep, multiple actually. He let his guard fall and he stepped out from the darkness, glancing over once more to Anti. He knew they had to have come from the pasture he destroyed. 

He stood there, still, as one raised its head, wet grass sticking to the fluff below its mouth and terrified eyes trained on him, then took a cautious step forward. When Dark did nothing, the sheep walked over to him and nudged his leg worriedly. Dark stared down at the thing, empty and emotionless, but lifted his hand and placed it gently onto its soft head. It mumbled quietly into his palm and threw its weight into his leg. Dark stumbled to the side, he paused and breathed in deeply through his nose then crouched down in front of it. He took the sheep's head into his heads and ruffled its fur delicately.

"Stay away from the roads," he said. He stroked under its chin once, then stood again and moved away. The sheep looked up at him for a moment before turning away and joining its brethren.

Dark reassumed his spot at the edge of the forest, waiting patiently. He watched the farm house even after the sunlight came and Anti fled. He watched the girl come out, and the rest of the family shortly after. He watched the tears flow and the angry curses fizzle out. He watched it all from his hiding spot, and throughout it all not a single muscle in his face changed, not a single emotion rose to his eyes nor any other part of him. He looked on with the same dead, scrutinizing eyes he had for years now.


	6. Chapter 6

He returned to Mark before he woke up, and even though the sun had rose long ago he expected still for Mark to remain asleep for a while longer. When Mark did wake up, he would have no idea of what had gone on that night, or so Dark hoped.

It was around noon when Mark finally awoke and he was glad to have wasted some of the time he would inevitably spend waiting around for Jack to come over. He knew he needed to get some work done too, however, and for that he promptly got out of bed and dressed himself. He walked into the kitchen and stretched, popping his back. He dug around in his pantry and grabbed a single protein bar from the back of a shelf then took his breakfast of champions into his office and sat down in his chair, leaning back and biting into the bar.

The first thing he did was check twitter on his computer, texting Jack on the side. Jack made fun of him for waking up so late and it made him smile despite himself. He pulled up his email and quickly scanned his inbox, groaning as he saw one from the bank. He shook his head and closed the browser, resolving to deal with that at a later date.

Once he was all caught up he began to record. His videos for today were already set to go up, but he knew how crucial it was for him to stay on his recording schedule. He sat there for a few hours, getting as much done as he could until he decided he needed a break or he would go out of his mind.

He took the time to make himself some coffee and watch whatever he could find on T.V., which usually ended up being something on Food Network. He suffered through an episode of Chopped that he had seen ten times already until he couldn't stand it anymore and got up from the couch. He paced about his apartment, wondering what to do until Jack came. He figured he could probably stock up on candy and junk food and make sure everything was situated for later, so he left the house and walked down to the nearest grocery store.

The nearest grocery store was a Publix just down the street. He walked there and grabbed a basket on his way in. He knew exactly what row to go to- third from the left held all the chips, and the one next to it the sweets. He threw a big bag of Hot Cheetos in and some of his favorite potato chips, then moved to the next aisle. He dropped a bag of M&M's in and all the candy he knew Jack loved, debating whether or not he would be in the mood for Oreos tonight. He ultimately decided yes and moved on to the drinks.

He grabbed a case of sparkling waters and paused next to the alcohol. Of course, he couldn't have any since he was deathly allergic, but he couldn't remember if he had any beers left in the fridge for Jack. He thought he could remember seeing more in the very back and so decided to leave them out this time. He walked down the toy isles to see if there was anything he could use for future videos, but nothing was too interesting and he kept going. He walked over to the big bins of half-priced movies by check out and dug around for a moment, pulling out the first one he found that looked semi-good.

He walked up and down the check out lanes, turning into the first one he found that was empty. The lady behind the register looked over to him and smiled brightly as he unloaded his items onto the counter. She had short blonde hair and seemed to be having fun at her job, even if it was barely above minimum wage.

"You planning on eating all this on your own, because I won't judge. We've all been there," she said, beginning to scan his items. Mark smiled shyly and shook his head.

"No, unfortunately."

"They're very lucky then." Mark laughed warmly, making the cashier's face light up.

"Yeah, he is." Her eyebrow edged up slightly, smile slowly widening as she nodded.

"What's his name?"

"Jack." Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, sliding out a 50 dollar bill and setting it next to the card reader. He ducked his head as she took it from him and handed him the change back.

"You two have fun!" She called out to him as he waved goodbye and walked away. Her name tag had 'May' printed across the front. Mark walked back home at his usual relaxed pace, until Jack texted him he was on his way over. He sped up to ensure he would make it home first, which he obviously did, the supermarket was just down the road. Once inside he unloaded the bags onto the counter, moving the drinks to the fridge and taking everything out of the plastic bags. Soon enough he heard a knock at his door and he hurried over to it.

"Who is it?" He said, singing the words to whoever could be on the other side of the door. He opened it and met Jack's cheery face.

"It me," Jack said, moving carefully past him and into the apartment. The first thing he noticed were the snacks laid out in the kitchen. "Ooh, you got food?"

"I sure did, you can thank me later." Mark winked at him.

"I'm thanking you now. How was your day?" Jack said, looking into Mark's eyes with genuine curiosity.

"Pretty good, I got a lot of recording done and I just got back from Publix a few minutes ago. You get that work done?"

"Mhm, yes-sir-re. All good to go, that's all I spent time doing today. I'm ready to just chill." He flopped back onto the couch, grinning lazily at Mark still standing above him.

"Me too, shall we get situated then finish this thing?" Jack made a noise of agreement and hopped back up from the couch. They poured bowls of chips and chocolate, grabbed paper towels, and picked their drinks. Jack searched through Mark's messy fridge until he finally found one of the beers he knew he was hidden somewhere. They fell into their positions on the couch and booted up the game, starting from where they had left off.

It took them another two hours and entire bag of Cheetos to finish the game. The ending left them both teary-eyed. Mark's character had betrayed Jack's to save himself, leaving Jack's a heap on the stone floor in a pool of her own blood. It was an unsatisfying ending that left both of them longing for more. It just seemed so cut off left like that, especially with everything the characters had been through together. Mark wiped at his eyes and looked over at Jack, glad to see he wasn't the only one tearing up.

"Dude, what the fuck?" He said.

"I'm sorry man, I didn't know the dog was gonna die," Jack said, laughing and swiping at his face. Mark leaned over and shoved his arm.

"You're such a dork, oh my god."

"They better come out with a second one or something, because that was awful," Jack said, leaning backwards and stretching. Mark nodded and agreed.

The rest of the night was spent playing various board games and going through all the sparkling waters Mark had just bought, sitting criss-cross on the floor on opposite sides of the coffee table before the T.V. They spent a while playing Cards Against Humanity, but it wasn't as fun with two people so they just started messing with the rules and digging through all the cards, occasionally throwing a really stupid one at the other's face. At 2:00 AM they put on the shitty movie Mark had purchased earlier and laid down on either end of the couch. They were a little too big to both be sideways on it, but they compensated by just kicking each other off at various times.

Mark fell onto his butt again as Jack nudged him off for the thousandth time and glared up at Jack, who laid staring and giggling at him with the back of his hand pressed to his mouth. Mark shook his head and grabbed his leg, yanking firmly and bringing Jack down to the floor on top of him. Jack rolled away and almost hit his head on the table, but Mark was quick to grab him and angle him away from it. Jack thanked him in between laughs and frantically sucking in air, lying face down on the floor and tears collecting in his eyes. When he was finally able to control himself and sit up, Mark leaned forward and ruffled his hair fondly, smiling uncontrollably at him. He let out a soft sigh and scooted closer to Mark. He turned so he was leaning his back against the bottom of the couch and lifted himself to sit on top of Mark's outstretched legs.

"Ow," Mark said, grumbling about how his legs were going to go numb. Jack just chuckled and leaned his head back onto the couch cushion, then he turned it so he could meet Mark's eyes.

"We should probably go to bed now, shouldn't we?" Mark snickered and nodded his head frantically, his drooping eyes showing how tired he was. Jack pulled himself up, groaning, then held his hand out to Mark. Mark took it and stood up, stumbling tiredly and purposefully leaning his arm onto Jack's shoulder. Jack looked up at him and shook his head in mock disappointment, then looped his fingers around Mark's wrist and took his arm off his shoulder, swinging it lightly in front of him. Mark looked around at the room and all the wrappers laying around.

"Guess I'll deal with this tomorrow."

"I'll help you," Jack said reassuringly, unknowingly brushing his thumb across Mark's skin as he still held onto him. He dropped his arm soon thereafter.

"Alright, you go get settled and I'll turn all the lights off," Mark said. Jack turned and disappeared into Mark's room, while the other went about shutting the house off for the night. Finally, he followed Jack into his own room and saw Jack kicked back onto his bed reading something on his phone. When he walked in the man dropped his phone onto his chest and beamed up at him, having changed into the old grey shirt that used to be Mark's, but had been set aside permanently as Jack's pajamas for nights like this. Besides that all he wore were boxers, but it wasn't anything weird, as they had been friends for way too long for them to have not seen each other naked.

Mark went into his drawers and pulled out a large shirt for himself, stripping down to his boxers as well. Neither of them bothered to brush their teeth or anything, but simply sunk into bed and went to sleep for the night. Mark took to the right side of the bed and curled up under the blankets, getting comfy and facing Jack. Jack maneuvered himself so that he was actually under the blankets and looked into Mark's eyes.

"G'night, Mark," he said.

"Night, Jack. See you in the morning." Jack made a small noise and closed his eyes, already drifting off to sleep. Mark turned over and did the same, the two quickly falling deeply asleep next to each other.

-

Jack woke up first, blinking his eyes open and looking at the light streaming in through the blinds. He knew it would be late in the day already, they were both lovers of sleeping in and had stayed up fairly late the night before. Remembering last night, a ghost of a smile brushed past his lips. He turned over to face Mark, seeing the man spread out across the bed like a starfish with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. He laughed softly at the sight, unsure of whether or not he wanted to wake the deep sleeper.

When a loud snore came out of the man's mouth, Jack had to clamp his hand over his own mouth to keep silent. He began to slide himself out of bed, being extra careful not to wake Mark, then tiptoed out of the room. He figured he could take a shower and be out before Mark woke up. He walked into the bathroom, grabbing a white towel from the cabinet and stripping off what he had slept in. He rubbed a spot on the towel where it had turned pink from excess hair dye and wondered why Mark hadn't bothered to buy different colored towels. He jumped into Mark's shower, washing up and using all of the different products lining the tub's edge without regret.

Mark woke up to an empty bed, and for a minute it terrified him. But then he heard the faint sound of running water and relaxed, Jack had to still be here. The little adrenaline rush had awoken him enough to get out of bed easily, but he still had to blink a few times after he turned the lights on. As he walked out into the hall, he noticed that the bathroom door was shut and was about to walk past when he heard something coming from behind the door besides the sound of the shower running.

Jack was singing, not that he could make out most of it, but a few words floated clearly through the walls. Mark's heart rate sped up the tiniest bit listening, it was the first time he had really heard him put effort into a song. Within the muffled notes, he was able to piece together one line;

_"Inside, what a wonderful caricature of intimacy."_

Jack swore loudly and laughed to himself, unaware of anyone listening to him. Then the water shut off and a moment later Jack walked out with nothing but a towel around his waist. He leapt sideways and yelped when he saw Mark, the towel slipping in the process and beginning to fall. Jack's eyes widened and he snatched it, holding it firmly in place once more.

"Well, wasn't expecting to see you," he said.

"You are the epitome of elegance," Mark said, deadpanning. Jack's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he stuck his tongue out. Mark simply smiled and walked away into the kitchen, patting him on the shoulder on the way then wiping his wet hand on his shirt. Jack turned and went back into Mark's room to change into his clothes from yesterday. When he came back out and met Mark in the kitchen, he had already poured them both a bowl of cereal. Lucky charms, of course, solely because they were good, and totally not because of his Irish friend. They ate together at the kitchen table, making easy conversation.

"When was the last time you went to the dentist?" Mark said.

"Pft, forever ago. I don't even clean my own house, you think I go to the dentist on a regular basis?" Jack said.

"I'm due to go, but I don't wanna."

"So don't, just brush your teeth and you'll be fine."

"You're a bad influence on me," Mark said, pointing at Jack with the end of his spoon. Jack reached forward to steal the spoon from his hand, but Mark pulled it away from him and scrunched up his face. Jack's foot accidentally hit Mark's under the table, and, instead of moving away, he immediately nudged it again on purpose. Mark furrowed his eyebrows at him.

"Ow, stop hurting me." Jack stuck his tongue out at him. "And stop sticking your tongue out at me, you rude fucker."

"Fine," Jack said. He took a few more bites of his cereal.

"Did you tell Anti where you were going?"

"Yeah, he spent all of yesterday lounging around on the couch so it wasn't all that hard to find a time to tell him. I'll have to get home soon, though, God only knows what he's been up to." Mark snorted and looked up at him.

"That sounded weird."

"No it didn't, you made it weird." Mark nodded.

"Yeah probably." They finished up their breakfast (even though it was closer to 1:00 PM now), and Mark took the bowls to the sink. Jack leaned against the counter and watched him. "Will you help me clean up the living room?"

"Yeah, I said I would."

"Just making sure," Mark said. They moved into the room once again and assessed the situation. "Hey, before we start- can you put some music on?" Jack nodded excitedly and walked over to the speaker, letting whatever song came on first play. Mark tossed him a small plastic bag to put the trash in and they started on the mess. They were finished within a few minutes, two people couldn't make that much mess. Mark glanced at Jack and gave him a sheepish smile.

"Why stop there?" He said, referring to the rest of the unorganized stuff lying around the various rooms in his apartment. Jack sighed and glared at him playfully.

"So now I'm your maid?" Mark laughed, walking past him and nudging him with his hip.

"Just help me, please?" Jack bit his lip and nodded. He walked over to Mark's kitchen and started placing all the dishes into the dish washer, humming along to the song in the background. Mark watched him for a minute, smiling, then moved towards his and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. He angled his head down towards Jack's and began loudly singing along. Jack grinned and looked up at him, joining in and pulling away so that he could dance around the kitchen. Between laughs and purposefully bad singing, they swung about the apartment and organized all that they could.

As Jack finished picking up all the trash off of Mark's desk, Mark slid up behind him and put his head on his shoulder.

"Almost done," he said.

"Finally. You're messy." Jack bopped Mark on the nose, who crossed his eyes and scrunched up his face. He tilted his head down and noticed the trash bag Jack held.

"I'll take that," he said, grabbing a hold of Jack's hands and playing with them for a moment before slipping the plastic bag from his grip. He turned and left the room, depositing it in the trash with the rest of the things they had picked up. Jack followed him out and threw himself down into the corner of the couch, turning the news on, but not really paying attention to it. Mark returned and walked behind the couch, flinging himself over it and landing on top of Jack. Jack groaned and pushed at his shoulders.

"Oh, Jesus! What are you doing?" Jack said. Mark didn't respond, but pulled himself off of him, still sitting way too close considering they had the entire couch to themselves. Jack didn't bother telling him to move, instead trying to listen to whatever boring news was going on. Less than a minute later Mark pulled his legs up under him and faced Jack again, a smirk in place, and started poking his knee repeatedly. Jack lifted his hand and slapped it down over Mark's, freezing it in place. "God, you're touchy today."

Mark's features softened and he tilted his head to the side, "Is that a bad thing?" Jack scoffed and shook his head.

"Nah. It's not like I have anyone else." Mark grinned back at him.

"How long's it been since you last dated someone?"

"Like two years."

"Two and a half for me," Mark said, laughing and shaking his head. Jack mumbled a reply and shifted himself so that he was laying sideways on the couch with his legs across Mark's, in doing so he had to push Mark further away from him, but it was worth it. Mark lightly dropped his hand onto Jack's leg, rubbing back and forth. Jack looked up at him from where his head lay.

"Would you ever date a dude?" Mark asked, the question coming seemingly out of nowhere. Jack gave him a funny look but answered honestly none the less.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. I'm not gonna confine myself, if I crush on a guy then so be it." Mark looked off into the wall, thinking deeply.

"I guess I could say the same." He looked over at Jack and grinned, "I can appreciate a good ass, wherever it is."

"Oh, of course. Good ass is everywhere once you open your eyes to it." They both laughed and grew quiet, just looking at each other, broken only by the news playing in the background.

"No new leads on the Flores' farm house today- that's the house that was mysteriously ransacked two nights ago. The police are still investigating, but it's not looking promising for the poor family." Jack turned his head, suddenly curious as to what the newscaster was talking about. Immediate alarm bells went off in his head when the screen panned to footage of the wrecked house.

"Oh dear God," he said, sitting up quickly, his mouth hanging ajar.

"What?" Mark asked, looking as well to the news broadcast.

"If those aren't Anti's claw marks, I don't know Anti." He looked into Mark's eyes, a wild and terrified glint in them. The camera zoomed in on the writing on the shed.

"Is that blood?" Mark said, looking past Jack. Jack spun around and gasped.

"Holy shit."

"Does that look like Anti's handwriting?"

"I-I don't know, not really? It's hard to tell." Mark nodded. "I need to go home, Mark, I'm so sorry." Jack stood up quickly and began searching for the things he had brought.

"It's fine, I understand. Go home and sort this out. Hey-" He put a hand on Jack's shoulder and turned him around. Jack looked up at him, scratching his arm nervously. "It's okay." He smiled brightly and Jack returned it briefly, then, without warning, pulled him into a hug. He pressed close into Mark's chest, for no reason other than he wanted to, and Mark wrapped his arms around him as well, rubbing up and down his back carefully.

"Thank you. I'll see you soon?" Jack said, pulling back again.

"Of course." He walked Jack to the door and saw him out, saying a short goodbye. He closed the door and sighed deeply, running a hair through his hand. What were they going to do with these demons?

_"It was him."_ A deep voice resounded in his head.

"How do you know?" Mark said aloud, finding it easier to communicate that way. He waited for a reply for a good minute before realizing he wasn't going to get one. "Alright, then."


	7. Chapter 7

Jack gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. He was just worried about him, that was all. Hopefully no one would be able to figure out who did it, they had said it wasn't likely, right? Mark was right, it would be fine, he didn't know why he was getting so worked up about it. Hadn't he gotten Anti out of enough situations like this to be used to it? He reached his house soon enough and walked through the front door. Maybe he was wrong anyways, maybe it wasn't Anti. Oh, who was he kidding, it had to be Anti, what else could have done that?

"Anti?" He called out. Nothing. He tried again, still nothing. He walked around the silent house, his feet making a tapping noise on the hardwood of the floor. He walked up the stairs and peeked into Anti's room, but it too was empty. He let out a noise of frustration and walked back out, as he passed the bathroom though, he glanced in and stopped abruptly. There he sat, on the tile floor, pulling all the toilet paper off it's roll and ripping it apart. "What are you doing?"

Anti jumped and turned around, paper hanging from his teeth. He grinned cheekily.

"Oh hey, Jack. When did you come in?" Jack gave him a scolding look, not that it affected him in the slightest. "Did you have fun with your boyfriend?" He tried again.

"Did you do it?" Anti blinked and stared at him blankly. "Did you do it?" Jack's voice raised involuntarily, the sight of him making his temper flare. "What did you do to those people, Anti?" Anti's eyes dulled and his confused look dropped. "What happened this time, huh? What poor creature did you murder, whose life did you fuck up? Do you even know?" Anti said nothing, but looked past him in an unemotional stupor. "That's what I thought." Jack stormed away from him and went out the backdoor. He walked into the woods behind their house and sat with his head propped up against a tree.

Something about being outside makes a person think deeper. Maybe its the quiet of being alone, or just the company of the trees and plants. Thoughts spun through Jack's mind, and he pounded a fist on the ground angrily. He thought about everything Anti had ever killed or hurt, which admittedly was never a person, but it was still just as upsetting. What was he going to do with him? He couldn't just live with a murder-machine.

He was torn in two, part of him never wanted to see Anti again after he did things like this, but the other part knew that he couldn't just get rid of him. It wasn't that easy, and in all honesty, he didn't think it was possible. Hot tears of frustration had begun to streak down his face, he wiped furiously at his eyes with his sleeves and sniffled. He stayed at the foot of the tree for far longer than he should have, taking in the peace and breathing deeply. It was dark when he decided to get up and walk back.

Halfway back his phone began to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and quickly brought it to his ear, noticing it was none other than Mark.

"Hey, what's up?" Jack said.

"Hey, I need your help. I don't really know what to do, man, I'm kind of stuck."

"What do you mean, are you okay?" He heard Mark sigh.

"Its money, Jack. I didn't realize how bad it really was until today. I don't have enough for next month's rent." Jack stopped in front of his door, hand frozen on the handle.

"Mark, I- when did this happen?"

"I've known I needed to watch my spending for a while, but yesterday the bank emailed me and I ignored it until today and it's not good. I don't know what to do, I'm gonna lose my apartment. I..." he took a deep breath "I might have to move back home for a bit." Jack's jaw dropped, lips parting in shock.

"No, Mark, you can't! That would be giving up everything you've built up here." He paused, looking up at the old house looming in front of him. "You can move in with me, there's plenty of room here and we spend so much time together already. It just makes sense, you're coming here, Mark."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because that would be using you, Jack, I don't wanna do that."

"No, its not. This house is huge, and you can't leave I'll be so lonely without you here. Come on, how long have we known each other for? Think about it." Mark went silent.

"What about Dark and Anti?"

"What about them? What's more important here you or their feud? Plus they've been just fine lately, right?"

"I don't feel like testing them."

"MARK. Listen- you're moving in with me." The line went quiet again, then he heard a sigh.

"Fine, but only because I don't really have another choice. Are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Yes! Now, do you need to talk to your landlord? When do you need to move about by?"

"Probably, and I'm gonna guess as soon as possible. The new cycle starts in like a week and a half."

"Alright, cool, I'm coming over tomorrow to help you pack."

"Alright. I'm gonna miss this place though."

"Yeah, me too."

Jack placed his hands on the counter and continued talking to Mark for a bit before saying goodnight and hanging up. A small smile lit up his face as he made his way upstairs and changed into his pajamas. He figured he would need to clean the house and fix up the room at the other end of the hall. As he laid down in bed for the night, he conjured up scenes of him and his best friend in an endless sleepover. He was excited, to say the least, because he really did get lonely at times and Mark was his closest friend. Plus he would save money on all the gas he wasted driving to Mark's apartment every other day.

Jack fell asleep easily that night, the earlier contents of the night having been completely flushed from his mind. Anti, however, did not. He sat legs crossed beneath him on his bed, leaving the lights on and not making the effort to change out of his clothes. He didn't bother with anything, there was a certain heaviness in his bones that made him tired, but not the kind that can be reversed with sleep. He sat unwavering throughout the entire night, eyes dully focused on the crack that led from the top of the ceiling to halfway down the wall in the corner of his room.

When it reached morning, he didn't even realize. The sun poured in through the open blinds, but Anti didn't see it.

-

Jack woke up early that morning, determined to get some recording and editing in before leaving to help Mark. He made a quick breakfast standing at the kitchen counter and looked around curiously. Anti was usually up by now, but Jack hadn't heard a peep from him since yesterday afternoon. Jack remembered their conversation and his features hardened. If he wanted to hide, fine, Jack didn't want to see him anyways.

So Jack left the house at noon that day, and he still hadn't seen Anti, but he wasn't really paying attention. He met Mark with an eager grin which Mark returned immediately.

"Hello, roommate," Jack said, walking into the apartment. He looked around and reminisced for a moment, all their good memories flooded back to him and for a minute he almost felt bad about giving it up.

"Hey," Mark said, rolling his eyes. "I've been thinking about how we're gonna do this all morning. You think we can get this done in three days?"

"We can fucking try. I'll come over every day if you want."

"Yeah, I think that'd be the best. I'm gonna speak to my landlord today, but it shouldn't be a big deal. She's really nice." Jack nodded.

"Okay. So where are we starting?" Jack rubbed his hands together and laughed.

"Well, I think I want to leave the recording equipment for last, but maybe we can start packing up like all the little shit I have laying around. That way tomorrow we can work on furniture."

"Right, and how much of this furniture is yours?"

"Oh, um, like all of it. But we can sell it, that's not a big deal." Jack thought for a moment then nodded again.

"You should probably go through everything and decide what you're keeping and what you're selling."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I can do that when you leave, though." Mark walked over to his kitchen table, where he had begun to stack any cardboard boxes he could find around the apartment. "So, I think we should just box things by where they are. Of course, everything from each room will be together, but things like that stand over there can all be put in the same box. Some stuff we can combine too."

"Alright, lets get this shit going," Jack said, then picked up a box and started piling whatever he could into it. They spent a few hours going through all the stuff lying about the living room, occasionally Jack would look over his shoulder and ask Mark whether he really wanted something, to which Mark usually replied an adamant "Yes!". Eventually they stopped, because Mark had already set up a meeting with his landlord and was going to go out and meet her. He liked his landlord a lot, she was very forgiving, but she could still be scary (as any person in a position of power tends to be) and so he had a nervous stomach ache. She had asked him to meet at her office, since it was short notice and she was pretty busy, and Mark didn't have a problem with that, but the walk gave him just enough time to work up all his imagination in a very unhelpful way.

Jack had gone home when Mark said he had to go, and now he was regretting not bringing the man with him. It would have been nice to have a comforting force beside him, but there was nothing he could do now. With the thought still in his mind, he pulled out his phone and texted Jack, hoping to glean some sort of strength from it. It wasn't until Mark walked up to the building that he got a response, and it absorbed all of his attention to the point where he accidentally blocked the front entrance from a young lady trying to get back in. He apologized profusely, his face reddening, and after that he told Jack he had to go and put his phone away.

He put his hands in his pockets and finally walked into the building. His landlord had told him she was on the third floor in room 322, and he followed those instructions with still fifteen minutes until their meeting time. He rode the elevator up, not wanting to risk the chance of sweating on the stairs and walked slowly down the hallway to waste time. He found her room still ten minutes early, but thankfully she noticed him outside the open door and invited him in. She looked in a good enough mood, but Mark's heart beat wildly out of his chest.

"Hi, Mark! How have you been? It's been quite a while since I last saw you." She smiled politely and reached out for to shake his hand. She gestured for Mark to sit down across from her.

"Oh I'm good, thank you. How are you?"

"Good, good. Very busy. So, what's on your mind?" Mark took a deep breath.

"I don't have enough money for next month's rent," he said, letting it all out in one breath and deciding just to cut to the point. "I wanted to let you know I'd like to move out in the next few days."

"Oh, Mark!" She held a shocked expression, looking even slightly worried. "I'm sorry to hear that, but yes of course that would be the best course of action. You do have a place to live, yes?" Mark smiled and nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! I do, you don't have to worry about that. I'm gonna spend some time living with my friend in his house." She seemed satisfied by this and returned to her professional demeanor.

"That's wonderful, well I do wish the best for you, Mark. Just be sure to give me a call before you move out and I'll take the keys from you."

"Yes, of course. Thank you, I'll see you soon."

Mark walked back with a hop in his step and a wide smile, having had Jack on the phone before even leaving the building because he was just too excited now. The original hesitance was gone at the idea of living with his Jack, because, really, what could be better than that? He imagined watching movies after dinner every night and jump-scaring each other while they were working. He wanted to throw food at him and laugh together and take a nap on the couch only to be awoken by Jack sitting on him. He wanted to laugh until he was sick and stay up all night playing video games. All with his best friend. His smile grew to slightly creepy as he walked up the stairs and back into his not-for-long apartment.

It was a weird thought to imagine that he wouldn't be living here anymore after what had been coming on three years. It was a great apartment, but this would be a good thing. He was determined to make it so. He imagined it would be a good change of pace for him. Something twisted in his stomach, setting him off balance for a moment as he turned around and locked his door. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I knew I'd be hearing from you soon enough," he said, not fooled by Dark's antics.

_"I don't like it."_

"I know you don't, I don't care."

_"I don't think you understand. You expect him and I to get along?"_

"I expect you to go your separate ways and get ahold you yourselves. Is that too much to ask for?"

_"We're demons, Mark. It's not as plausible as you make it out to be, there are levels upon levels that are unknown to you."_

"That's not my fault, Dark. You're the one who won't tell me, so obviously I don't know. And since I don't know, I can say this; get over it." Dark didn't respond, but Mark felt him leave his body and watched the black figure of smoke leave through the window on the far side of the room. He sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. It was one of the biggest worries he had about living with Jack- the fact that they had two demons that didn't get along coming with them. He wished it were as cut and dry as he had tried to convince Dark it was, but even with the bare minimum of information he knew it was a lot more complicated than that. He couldn't imagine what it was like to know everything there was to it.

Mark spent the rest of the evening putting sticky notes on everything in his apartment to label what he wanted to keep and what he wanted to get rid of. Occasionally he would write little notes like"You missed a spot ;)" or "You're an asshole... just kidding I love you" and put them on the side he had assumed Jack would take. In the midst of it all Jack called him and he took a moment to step aside and answer his phone.

"Hey, Jack, everything alright?"

"Yeah, uh, I don't know. I haven't seen Anti all day, the last I saw him was yesterday afternoon and I'm worried." His voice shook slightly as he talked and it made Mark's heart ache.

"Did something happen that would upset him?"

"Well, yeah." He sighed into the phone. "I got mad and yelled at him because of... you know. Then I ran off into the woods and left him alone, I haven't seen him since, but I was still mad and didn't really notice this morning and I'm just now realizing and-"

"Jack, its alright. This isn't the first time this has happened, he'll come back, he kind of has to. He just needs time to sort himself out, you know how he is."

"Yeah, yeah you're right. I just worry about him."

"I know you do, and you have reason to, but theres nothing you can do. Try to relax okay? He's fine, I promise, and he'll be back tomorrow."

"Thank you," he said softly. A warm smile touched Mark's lips.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep, I'll probably be there around the same time as today. Bye, Mark."

"Bye." Mark put his phone back in his pocket, knowing for certain there was nothing to worry about. Jack was very touchy when it came to Anti, but he always came back in the end. Having assured himself, he turned back to his work.

It took him hours to finally finish and by that time he was exhausted and decided just to go to sleep for the night. In the corner of his mind he as aware that Dark had not returned yet either, but his tired mind didn't make anything of it. He readied himself for bed and fell into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Anti paced back and forth restlessly on the bank of the same lake he had a few nights earlier. He had been there all day, wanting to just be alone, but now he had begun to grow tired of it. He wanted to leave, but didn't know where to go, nor what to do. He still didn't want to face Jack yet, and it frustrated him to the point where he actually clipped a few pieces of his hair off by accident while tugging at it. He turned and swung at the closest tree trunk, pounding his fist into the wood and crying out at the same time. He paused for a moment and listened to the sound of his heavy breathing. Within the second another sound joined it, however. The subtle shifting of air just barely sounded in his ears, only able to hear it because of his heightened sense of hearing and the way the water carried it.

He turned around slowly, hand still resting on the tree and face angled downward, his greasy hair falling over his eyes in spears. On the bank of the lake opposite of him landed the familiar figure. Anti groaned lowly, gradually transforming it into a loud growl. Dark remained unmoving on the other side, a glowing pink silhouette backed only by the stars.

"You don't know," Dark said, the sound traveling across the water and reaching Anti's acute ears.

"Know what? Of course I know," Anti said, eyes flashing angrily. Dark surged forward and flew across the lake at a high speed, coming straight for Anti. Anti took a step backwards despite himself and watched Dark land a few paces away from him.

"You're aware, then, that Mark is moving in with you?" He said menacingly. All the muscles in Anti's body tightened at the words, and even more so at the implications that came along with it. Dark laughed at him and moved in closer. He reached a hand outwards to tuck back a stray piece of Anti's hair, but Anti's own hand snapped forward and stopped it midair. "Oh, you poor thing. And to think- it never even occurred to Jack to ask you about it." He took a tantalizing steps forward, bringing himself even closer to the other, so that he could feel his cool breath. "But that's your fault, isn't it?" Anti remained quiet and stared pointedly into a spot on his chest, avoiding his eyes entirely. Dark grabbed Anti's limp arm by the wrist and lifted it up until it was even with their shoulders, then slid his fingers in between his and clamped them overtop his hand. "You know what that means, don't you?"

In a sudden burst of energy, Anti yanked from Dark's grip and took off on two feet into the woods as fast as he could. He slid through mud puddles and flung tree branches back behind him, knowing full well that Dark was right on his tail. He twisted about, pumping his legs and letting short bursts of air out through his nose. The night around him whizzed by and the air pressed against his face, cooling him from the heat of running.

An outcropping of grass opened before them, leading them to burst from the tree line and tear through the patch. Flowers ripped beneath them and floated upwards in confetti-like pieces, littering the air around their faces. Anti took a glance behind him and met the angry pink gaze of Dark a foot or two back. He faced forward again quickly and pushed himself even harder to move faster. He glided back into the trees and leapt over a fallen tree, a small grin of excitement crossing his face for a split second before hardening once more into concentration.

Asleep at home, both Mark and Jack groaned and turned restlessly in their bed. Jack dreamt he was being chased that night, and Mark dreamt he was chasing someone, but neither knew why.

Anti gulped down air and swerved desperately, then grabbed onto a thick branch nearest to his head. He gripped it tightly and swung himself around, landing skillfully on top of the same branch and moving off of it again within the span of a second. He propelled himself to the top of the tree and crawled out onto the edge of a branch before hopping over to the next tree and the next. Dark ran beneath him, chin to the sky so that he could follow his movements precisely. As Anti jumped to the next tree, however, Dark jumped up and wrapped his wings steadfast around him and the two plummeted to the ground. Dark took the brunt of the fall and unfurled his wings, allowing Anti to roll off of him and onto his back beside him.

While they laid there, chests rising and falling rapidly as they pumped air back into their sore bodies, Anti's fingers brushed past Dark's arm lightly. The others fingers twitched, but did not move, allowing Anti's rough fingers to stay softly against his skin.

-

Jack woke up in the early hours of the morning to a loud banging from downstairs. He jumped from his bed in a cold sweat and a slight panic, which quickly transformed into curiosity when he realized who it probably was. He walked over to his door and gently pulled it open, peeking out past it into the hall. No one was there, as was already predictable, but Jack still proceeded cautiously. Once he reached the kitchen, walking as quietly as he could though the squeaking of the stairs didn't help, he peered in and found Anti's back to him. A pile of pots and pans was on the floor next to him, having fallen from one of the cabinets and presumably the source of the loud crashing Jack had heard. Anti turned to him in one swift movement, placing his hand on the counter behind him to steady himself. He looked tired, with heavy bags under his eyes and twigs sticking out of his hair. Not to mention the grey dirt stuck all up the back of his hoodie and black jeans.

"You look like a mess," Jack said softly. Anti's lips twitched upwards for a moment before falling down again.

"As do you." Anti looked down at his feet, leaving Jack to shift awkwardly before moving forward briskly and wrapping his arms around Anti.

"We can move on now," he said, quickly removing his arms and taking a step back. Anti gave a sheepish smile and stood up straighter. He nodded absentmindedly and said nothing. "What happened to you?" Anti met his eyes.

"I don't know." He shrugged. Jack looked at him sternly, even though he knew it would do nothing for him.

"Okay, well, maybe you should sleep some." Anti ground his teeth as his heart began to beat faster. He nodded once more, hiding a grimace. Jack looked at him through concern, wishing that Anti would trust him enough with what was on his mind. After a minute of silence, Jack turned and began to walk away, only getting as far as the doorway.

"Is it true? Is Mark coming here?" Jack turned his head over his shoulder to look at him. He was still leaning against the counter, now slouched over and looking up at him with wistful eyes. Dirt was smudged beneath them and across his jaw, he noticed for the first time the small rips and cuts in his sweatshirt. In that moment Anti looked small, like a young child who had seen things he shouldn't ever have to. Jack wondered how he had found out, but it occurred to him it was likely he had overheard him on the phone. In truth he had forgotten that he didn't know. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah. He's gonna come live here for a while until he can find a new place. I'm going to help him pack soon." Anti looked deep into his eyes.

"How wonderful for you." He paused then pushed himself away from the counter and moved past Jack, walking up the stairs and disappearing onto the second floor. Jack watched him leave, then grabbed his stuff and walked out the front door and to his car. He knew Anti was not going to take this lightly, and so decided it wouldn't wouldn't hurt to arrive early at Mark's.

Anti walked into his room and curled up on top of his bed, chin to knees. He was dead tired, but afraid of what sleep might bring. He had been avoided sleeping since the dream a few nights earlier, though it hadn't really affected him until currently. Something about the emotional stress he was taking on and running around with Dark had sapped all of his energy, but he forced his eyes to stay open.

It got to the point where he couldn't keep his eyelids open for longer than a few seconds, they just kept drifting shut and he wouldn't even notice until he jerked awake. It scared him and so he lazily dragged himself out of bed and stretched his legs, feeling out the sore muscles. He walked in a circle once then flew out of his room and down the stairs, noticing quickly that Jack had left now. He shuffled over to the coffee maker, even though he wasn't one to like the taste of it, and began brewing himself some. He rested his head in the palm of his hand and tried to ignore the desperate fluttering of his eyes. He nodded off and fell forward, almost face planting into the counter, and decided he couldn't let himself stay still anymore.

He walked through the kitchen and living room, into Jack's office and around their front room. He paused next to the nice baby grand piano neither of them played these days and ran his finger across the dust over the top of it. He strained his ears for the bing of the coffee maker, but it didn't come fast enough.

He fell asleep- back against the leg of the piano, underneath the three large, open windows in the room. Striped rays of sunlight fell across his face and skin, and he wasn't quite sure how it had even happened, but he had been in too much of a state delusion to remember much anyways. His head hung loosely to the side over his shoulder, legs splayed out in front of him and hands laid palm up on the hardwood floor.

-

_The small boy adorned with fluorescent green skipped happily alongside the woman next to him, who reached out and fastened her hand around his tightly. He looked up to her with a face full of childish splendor and tilted his head, making a face at her. She smiled warmly and brushed her thumb across his knuckles._

_"Stay close this time, alright?" His mother said, and the boy nodded like the good kid he was and pretended he hadn't just been crossing his fingers behind his back. They made their gradual way down the path in the midst of their sparkling forest, taking a walk that Mother dearly hoped would rein her son back from his vast excitement. He wouldn't though, he was even more lively as a child._

_The second he saw his chance, his hand slipped dexterously from his mother's grip and his feet pumped beneath him, carrying him on the wind through the tree branches and brush. He left the path, but it didn't matter to him, because he knew the place better than the back of his own hand. He giggled and twisted around tree trunks, losing his mother in the thick vegetation. He heard her calls for him in the distance, muffled by the plants surrounding them both, and chose to ignore them. He maneuvered nimbly about the roots and thorns and plunged deeper into the forest._

_A bright flower caught his attention, one that matched his wings almost perfectly, and he had to pick it immediately. It went straight into the hair tucked behind his ear. He clapped his hands together gaily and let out a squeal of excitement. His further journey was lead by the trail of flowers that caught his eye and he bent down to pick, until another pair of eyes watched him from afar._

_The boy in pink whipped around at the sound of crunching leaves behind him. The wooden sword in his hand fell to his side as he stared curiously, and mildly anxiously, into the spot he was sure the noise had come from. He moved away from the middle of the clearing before his house and approached the tree line surrounding it. He hid himself behind a tree and peered into the shade before him, his eyes adjusting slowly until he could make out a small figure in front of him. He held himself from jumping back at the surprise and instead chewed on his bottom lip. The person in front of him looked to be his own age, and so he was excited at the prospect of a new friend._

_How fantastic it is for a child to find someone like them so unexpectedly. The boy began to turn toward him and Dark made his move. He stepped out of his hiding spot, standing brazenly in the other's way and raising his sword up to shoulder height._

_"Stop right there! I am Lord... Uh, Dark... i-iplier! Lord Darkiplier, and your name is?" The green boy looked at him with wide, shocked eyes, frozen in place for a moment before curiosity took over._

_"Well, I- I'm Anti." He spoke timidly and shuffled his feet to fully face his perpetrator._

_"And what do you do?" Anti thought for a moment._

_"I don't know." Dark let his sword drop to his side._

_"You have to know! Are you a criminal or maybe a duke, or a count? Oh you could be a knight from my army, one that just ran away. But then I would have to kill you. So, which one?"_

_"I'm a count, then. But we have to move fast, sir, or the assassins will catch us."_

_"Assassins?" A grin spread across Dark's face._

_"Yes, of course. We have to hide, they'll kill us if they catch us," Anti said, grabbing Dark's arm and spinning him around. He matched Dark's crass smile when he heard his mother's voice from behind him._

_"Follow me," Dark said. He pulled the other along behind him into the clearing he had just been playing in and lead him behind his house. Anti giggled excitedly and began to run through the forest on the other side, Dark following quickly behind him. Eventually they stopped to catch their breath and looked each other in the face. "I think we lost them."_

_Anti nodded, "Yes, they have to be way behind us now."_

_"Whose are they anyways?"_

_"The assassins? The enemy's, of course! I am a wanted criminal, Lord Darkiplier."_

_"I thought you were a count?"_

_"Well, can't I be both?"_

_"I suppose so." Anti took a step away and picked a yellow flower from the dirt, having lost most of the ones in his hair from all the running. "What are you doing?"_

_"I like them- aren't they pretty?" Dark watched curiously as he clipped the stem down with his nails and shoved it into his hair, only to have it fall out the next time he bent down again. Anti picked up a light pink one and moved towards Dark, rising onto his toes slightly and sticking it onto the side of his head. Dark crossed his eyes in an attempt to see it, but to no avail. Anti laughed at him and reached for his hand._

_"Come on, I wanna show you something." He started to run again, still holding his hand and brought them both to a small creek he knew was nearby. It ran only an inch deep and flowed like a vein through the dark soil and rocks on the forest floor. He put his hands on Dark's shoulders and lined him up in front of the water's edge. "There." He pointed to Dark's reflection. "Now you can see it better."_

_Dark's gaze met his in the reflection of the water, a smile on his face and a lively look in his eyes._

-

Anti woke to dried tear stains below his eyes and a cramp in his neck. He sat up slowly from the piano leg and grimaced at the cracking of his back. He had slept through most of the day and the light from the window was now starting to dwindle. His face ached and his mouth was dry, and honestly it felt as though the sleep he had gotten had done nothing but make him cranky. He placed one hand on the ground next to him and lifted himself up, dragging himself into the kitchen and drinking straight from the sink. He noticed in frustration that the coffee had finished making itself long ago and took to cleaning it out, if only so that Jack wouldn't know he had planned on drinking it.

Instead he put on the hot water and made a pot of Earl Grey tea for himself. He sat on the counter and sipped slowly on the hot drink, trying to wake his brain. After a few minutes he heard the front door open and shut, and caught sight of Jack's green hair in the doorway. Jack walked over to him and smiled, noticing the tea right away and reaching for a mug of his own. He filled his cup and sat on the counter across from Anti.

"How's Mark?" Anti asked, looking down into the swirling liquid before up into Jack's face. Jack's face softened almost imperceptibly and his cheeks tinged pink.

"Good. We're getting a lot done, I think we're gonna start moving stuff over here soon." Anti nodded. "If I ask you something, will you take it seriously?"

"Yeah," Anti said, and something about his mood told Jack he meant it.

"Will you and Dark be able to live in the same house?"

"We're gonna have to." Anti shook his head and grinned widely.

"But can you handle it?"

"I can handle him."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Jack. I know how much it would mean to you to live with your boyfriend." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Didn't I tell you to take this seriously?"

"This is me being serious." Jack opened his mouth, but hesitated, eventually letting out a long breath and continuing.

"Did you know him before you were sent here?" Anti gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the mug between his hands.

"He's the one who sent me," he said. He looked directly in Jack's eyes as he said it, wanting to see exactly how he reacted. Jack's eyes widened a little and his eyebrows raised, he ran a hand through his hair as he took it in. He couldn't believe Anti had even answered him.

"How long have you known him?"

"Too long."

"Longer than I've known Mark?"

"When did you meet Mark?"

"Almost ten years ago." Anti nodded and smiled fondly, the memory still drifting in the back of his mind.

"Much longer."

"What happened?" Anti gave him a look that told him he had reached his limit. He wouldn't get any more answers tonight. Jack slid off the counter and stretched.

"I have to work tonight, so I'll be up for a while."

"Okay, so will I."

"I know," Jack said, smirking. He brought his tea into his office and sat down at his desk. His videos for today were already up and good to go, but he was worried about tomorrow's. He had decided to put Mark first so that he could move in as quickly as possible, but that didn't mean he was going to slack off on his work. It just meant he would have to make time for it. He spent almost the entirety of the night awake trying to catch up, Anti popping in every now and then to bug him and see if he had fallen asleep on his keyboard yet. He finally finished at close to 4:30 AM and dragged himself to his bedroom.

He walked past Anti on his way, lying on his back in the middle of living room floor. He called out a goodnight, but the other was too lost in his mind to hear him. He wondered if Anti was actually alright and what had been messing with his head so much.


	9. Chapter 9

When Jack woke up it was to the doorbell ringing. They rarely had visitors and so Jack was immediately confused and stumbling to his feet. He wiped at his eyes desperately as he tried not to fall down the stairs in an attempt to make it to the door. Of course, once he got to the door he was significantly less worried, because who else would be at his house but Mark. He opened the door and smiled tiredly. Mark put a hand over his mouth and giggled.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but its fine."

"You know its past noon?"

"Is it?" Jack paused. "I wouldn't know- because I just woke up." He looked pointedly at Mark, who shrugged innocently. Jack realized he hadn't let Mark in yet and moved to the side, allowing him to pass.

"I didn't mean to intrude. I was just wondering where you were and I wanted to bring some stuff over, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, of course. But for right now, I'm not ready to do anything." Jack walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, Mark walked in and stood behind him. "Want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Jack quickly put some bread in the toaster and made himself some buttered toast to eat. Mark followed him to the kitchen table and seated himself on the other side.

"This is what all our morning's are gonna look like in a few days," Jack said between bites.

"It's not even morning." Jack grinned goofily at him.

"What's your point?" Mark shook his head, looking down at his hands.

"Did you have a good night? Anti's all good now?" He looked up at Jack.

"Uh, yeah," Jack said, averting his eyes. He didn't want to worry Mark with the fact that he had been working into the late hours of the night. "And I don't really know, it just seems like something's off with him."

"He'll sort himself out. He always does." Distress shone though Jack's eyes.

"What if he doesn't have enough time?" Mark froze, his mouth closing slowly as he swallowed. Suddenly Jack stood up and picked up his plate. "Alright, alright. Enough of that, I wanna show you your room." Jack put his plate and glass in the sink and took Mark upstairs. At the top he turned right, down the hallway away from his and Anti's rooms. He led Mark into the closest one, soon to be his bedroom. The room was fairly wide, but held only a set of drawers and a queen bed. It was plain compared to Mark's current bedroom, but that would be easily changed once he simply transferred everything over. He walked in and spun around in awe.

"It's perfect, Jack. I can't wait to decorate it- can I do that?"

"Of course, you dork. I'll fuckin' help you, it needs some life in it." Mark turned to Jack, who still stood in the doorway, and beamed at him.

"Now I'm really excited." Jack laughed.

"Me too, but come on I wanna show you one other thing." He walked into the last room, which was completely empty as Jack had moved the bed out of it sometime in the past few days.

"This can be where you record," he said, looking to Mark for approval. Mark's face lit up.

"Seriously? It's amazing, thank you!" Mark, overwhelmed with happiness, stepped forward and pulled Jack into a hug. Jack chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mark as well.

"I'd do anything for ya' buddy." Mark broke the hug and grabbed Jack by the arm.

"Let's get the stuff I brought," he said excitedly. The two ran down the stairs and out to Mark's car. He had brought over a few boxes of stuff he didn't think he would need to survive. When they walked back in another met them in the front hallway, an unreadable look on his face.

"Everything alright, Anti?" Jack said, a cardboard box between his arms. He set it next to the door and Mark did the same. Anti focused his eyes on Jack as if just realizing he was there, then moved to look at the boxes. He nodded in response to Jack's question.

"Hi, Mark," he said softly.

"Hey." Anti turned before anything else could be said and flew away, out of the window in the kitchen and into the expanse of their backyard. Jack sighed and Mark looked over at him. "Thanks for the help. Maybe I should go now." He put his hands into his pockets. Jack met his gaze, a wistful glint in his eyes.

"Let's go to the movies." Mark furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?"

"What's playing right now, I wanna go see a movie," Jack said, then spun around and grabbed his jacket and wallet. A smile spread across Mark's face and he pulled out his phone to look for a movie.

-

Mark drove the both of them down to the theatre and upon arrival they rushed to the ticket booth together. They greeted the bored high-schooler selling tickets and bought two for the action movie neither of them had heard of. Jack bounced excitedly in place as he waited for Mark then grabbed his hand and pulled him into the building. They handed their tickets to the person and walked into theatre number two. It was only about half full since it wasn't really when most people went out to movies, and they found themselves surrounded by teenagers.

Jack lead Mark down a far back row and sat down as close to the middle as they could get. Mark looked around and laughed, noticing how few adults were there. Jack looked over at him and smiled, lifting his hand to play with Mark's fingers sitting on the arm rest between them. He returned his attention to the screen as the previews played. An ad came on for a horror movie, causing Jack's face to light up eagerly, though he leaned over to clutch onto Mark's hand. Mark turned his palm upward and held back.

"We should go see that," Jack said, lowering his voice so that only Mark could hear him. Mark smiled and nodded his head. Once it had passed Jack took his hand back and placed it in his lap. At least once for each commercial one of them would lean across the armrest and whisper something into the other's ear and they would laugh.

The movie wasn't all too long and was filled with obnoxious people, making it hard to enjoy at all. They spent the majority of the time talking to each other quietly and laughing a little too loudly, but not caring all the same. They made fun of the movie and the people around them and each other, making easy light out of the situation, which was always easy when they were together. They were better around each other.

The movie was almost over at that point, and Jack was just bored. He leaned onto Mark and titled his head back to look at him. His hand drifted upward to poke at his face, Mark stubbornly not looking down and trying with all his might not to crack a smile. Eventually Jack just twirled his finger around a strand of his hair and tugged downward so that Mark's face jerked over towards him and his hard demeanor fell. Mark's eyes twinkled down at him and he had to restrain himself from poking his side. For a minute they looked into each other's eyes blissfully, then the lights turned on and everyone began to get up and walk out. Jack sat up again quickly and blushed lightly when he caught the look from the people sitting behind him. When they turned their backs he flipped them off, causing Mark to smack his arm playfully and tell him to stop.

As they exited the aisle Jack slid up next to Mark and slipped his arm through Mark's, leaning into him slightly. Mark looked over at him and nudged him sideways, making him stumble to the side and almost fall over except that Mark was already holding onto his arm and swung him back onto his feet.

"You jerk," Jack said. Mark laughed and swung their hands as they walked through the lobby.

"How many people think we're dating right now?"

"All of them," Jack said. "But more if I do this." He stopped and raised onto his tiptoes, moving closer and pecking Mark on the cheek. Mark laughed loudly and wiped at his cheek then pretended to smear it across Jack's face.

"Cooties," Mark said jokingly, causing Jack to send him a glare.

"Watch yourself, I'll do it again."

"Would you really?" Mark said, mocking excitement. Jack shook his head and lead them out to Mark's car.

"Back to your place?"

"I guess so. Hey I want your opinion on something." Mark pulled out of the parking lot and began driving home. "Do you think I should keep all the furniture I have for when I get a new apartment or sell it now and get new cheaper stuff later?" Jack felt an odd twist in his stomach when Mark mentioned moving out- he hadn't even moved in yet.

"I might just sell it, I dunno, you could probably use the money. How about you look at each thing and decide which you could probably get a better deal on later and what you should probably keep. And what you decide to keep can stay in my garage, that's fine."

"Oh shit, are you sure? I can just get some kind of storage unit for it." Jack shook his head.

"No, you don't need to be spending money on that. Plus there's room in the garage anyways and its just temporary." Jack looked down at his hands.

"You alright?" Mark asked, looking over at Jack. He looked up and smiled at him, noticing Mark's hand laid over his armrest and reaching to loop his fingers through it.

"Yeah, of course. I'm excited for you to live with me." Mark squeezed his hand.

"God, me too. We're gonna party every single night."

"All night long. And everyone else will be jealous."

-

Anti flew on the wings of the wind farther then he usually did. He went until the grass and trees faded into dust and shrubs and the sun was way overhead. He knew where he was going, or about where at least because she never stayed quite still. He planted his feet on the crusted earth, a plume of dust billowing around him, and shaded his eyes to take in the surroundings. The sun rippled against its blue frame and pressed against his pale skin, keeping his eyes from adjusting to the terrain.

He began to walk straight forward and kick at the rocks beneath his feet. He put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head downward. A scratching sound to his right surprised him and he spun around, catching the long tail of a lizard dart into a hole in the ground. He crept forward dexterously and snatched at it with his claws, skidding across the ground and barely missing it. He covered the hole with his hands and scratched at the edges of it. He let out a noise of frustration and raised himself from the ground, watching as the horned lizard dashed out from under him and away. He let it go and brushed himself off.

The sun began to get to him and his cheeks flushed a light pink, a droplet of sweat dripping down the side of his face. He wiped at it and shook his head. From the ground beside him a figure faded into existence, a small curl of sand unfurling behind. It was the form of a young lady, wrapped in billowy white fabric that tucked under her chin neatly and flowed about her limbs. Her features were sharp though holding an ethereal quality and her eyes glowed in a pale bluish-green. She almost floated along beside Anti, held high in elegance.

"Hello, Anti," she said. Her voice was airy and calming. Anti's lips twitched and he looked up.

"Lorelei." Anti nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Lot on your mind, dear?"

"I'd say so." She nodded sympathetically.

"I do too." She looked off into the horizon, mesmerized for a moment. "Well? Tell me about it."

"How's my mother?" Anti ignored the command, instead changing the topic. She remained unaffected, however.

"Ah, she's just fine, dear. Misses you, from what I can tell. I think she believes still that it was all unfair."

"She would." He nodded.

"And you?"

"I don't know."

"No? Were you not sure of it but a few months ago?" He met her curious eyes.

"Things change, Lorelei." She searched his face and noted the surfacing emotions.

"I do believe you are right." The corner of her mouth curved upwards. "And how is the other, then?" Anti had been expecting it.

"I don't know how to feel about him anymore."

"You've hated him for years, yet you've loved him your whole life. Simple, yet so complex. Anti, dear, what has happened to your intuition?" He shrugged halfheartedly.

"He counteracts it." Lorelei smiled.

"And what does that mean?"

"I can't get rid of him, can I?" Lorelei shook her head.

"Oh dear, no. Not someone like him." She stopped and turned to face him. "My husband should be somewhere around here, would you care to help me find him?"

"If you insist." Anti knew she would not find her husband, and he thought that maybe she knew that too but he couldn't be sure. She smiled lightly at him and took up his hand delicately. For hours they walked through the heat, taking their time and chatting nonchalantly. It made Anti homesick. He didn't believe he would ever see his home again, and mostly he had gotten over the fact, but there were always times when he would be reminded of his mother and felt the closest he could to heartache. Then Lorelei would smile warmly at him and remind him of what he had here.

"Don't you forget Jack, dearie." She would say to him and point a finger scoldingly. "Very few meet their human, and you've got a good one! Don't give me that look, you know I'm right."

"Lorelei," he said. "What happens if he falls in love?"

"You've been with him for seven years! You must know the answer to that." Anti shook his head.

"Those weren't love, though. Not really. Do you think it would affect me?"

"I don't know, dear. You tell me when you find out."

The sun was setting by the time Anti decided to pull away, and Lorelei cupped his hand in both of hers and gave him a sad look. She wished him luck and shooed him away, after all her husband had to be close now. Anti followed the wispy trails of pink and orange clouds back home and slipped into his dark house. He passed Mark's boxes in the hallway and paused, turning back and allowing a devilish grin to cross his face. The next he knew there weren't any boxes really, just torn pieces strewn across the floor. He ran about throwing the contents of the box across the living room and laughing when stuff broke. The place was a mess when he finally curled up on the large chair in the room and promptly fell asleep.

When Jack opened his front door and discovered the mess, however, he was livid. He mumbled curses under his breath as he paced around looking at all the stuff on his floor- and the fact that it was Mark's made it all the worse. When he came across the first cracked thing on the floor he bent down and groaned, it was a jar that had presumably held pencils in it once. He gritted his teeth and called out for Anti, moving until he saw the other snoring softly in his chair. He pulled at the hair at the back of his neck and let out a deep breath, unable to bring himself to wake the sleeping demon.

So there Jack left him and made his way up the stairs to his room. He paused at the top of the stairs and glanced towards Mark's room, then entered his own. He quickly readied himself for the night and sunk into bed, but found he was unable to sleep. He tossed and turned, but couldn't stop all the thoughts from taking over his mind.

There was one person who seemed to dominate all of his thoughts, and every time he landed on him again a wave of warmth would spread over his body and his stomach would twist. He pressed both palms into his eyes as he tried to figure out why Mark suddenly seemed different to him. His heart rate sped up and his face flushed as he thought about his time earlier in the day with the man- hugging and holding hands, it made him smile involuntarily. He had even kissed him on the cheek, hadn't he?

He told himself he would never hold himself back from any crushes he had, but Mark? Really? He had to be mistaken, he didn't actually like Mark, did he? It was just one of those things that happen when you spend a lot of time with someone, it would definitely pass.

He just couldn't figure out why he felt like this all of a sudden, then he remembered that Mark was moving in with him soon and groaned loudly. He wouldn't let this get to him, he didn't want to make it weird between them, especially if they were living in the same house. But he found himself imagining Mark's arms around him and his bubbling laugh filling the room when he wasn't paying attention and though it terrified him, he didn't stop. He let himself believe in it until he fell asleep, and then he decided to forget it as best as he could for a while, because it would only distract him and make his heart ache. He never thought for a second Mark would believe it, or feel the same way.


	10. Chapter 10

There was a warm breeze in the air where Dark stood. It blew through his clothes and felt nice against his cold skin. A small cliff edge jutted out in front of him, showing off the view in front of it like a proud mother. Water lapped at the rock that enclosed the cove and Dark could hear the soft pounding from his spot. That was the only noise in the air. There was no moon that night and so he looked just a shadow of an outline against the black sky and stars. If there had been anyone nearby, he would've dropped the sincere look from his face, but he was alone and could find it in him to open up his soul if just a little. He stared straight ahead while his hair shook in the wind. It made the silky pink flower in it flutter too, and he reached up to make sure it was still there.

-

It took two more days to get everything out of Mark's apartment and into his new room at Jack's house. He ended up selling some things to the blue haired boy from the gaming shop and leaving the rest of it in Jack's garage while he waited for someone to take interest in the ads he had put up. He still needed to set most of his stuff up and make everything the way he wanted it, but he was ecstatic to start anew in Jack's house. The first day he woke up in the house it was almost surreal. Shuffling out of his room and into the bathroom, he heard the light thumps of someone downstairs and for a split second he froze. He immediately relaxed, though, and grew giddy at the idea of always being around Jack.

He ran down the stairs that morning and met Jack in the kitchen, who smiled warmly at him, a far away look in his eyes.

"You're never this energetic in the morning," Jack said, noticing the pink boxers Mark had worn to bed paired with a shirt from his own merch line. Jack shook his head and laughed at him.

"Yeah, but this is so different! It feels weird." He moved closer to Jack and leaned in. "Don't you think so?" Jack looked down to his feet, trying to control the oncoming blush.

"I guess, it's not like we've never spent days in the same house."

"True, but now we have forever. I'm here to stay, baby." Mark smirked and Jack brushed him off.

"I was gonna make some waffles for our first morning together, you wanna help?" Mark's face lit up.

"Of fucking course! Tell me what to do Chef Jack." Jack made a face and smacked him in the arm then told him where the bowls were. Together they put together a plate of waffles and bacon that was only slightly burnt on the edges. They ate their breakfast at the kitchen table sat across from each other and spent most of their time eating instead of talking, but neither of them really minded.

After breakfast Jack went off to record some videos while Mark took a shower. Mark still had to set up all of his equipment in his office, and knew he would end up spending most of the day on it. He showered quickly and threw on some clothes before getting down to work on unboxing all of his stuff. He had been working for almost two hours and was a little over halfway done when Jack snuck up behind him and put his arms over his shoulders. Mark was crouching in front of his now set up desk trying to plug something in, and Jack couldn't pass up the opportunity to get close to him.

Mark relaxed into his touch and turned around to meet his eyes, but wasn't balanced correctly and fell back onto his butt. Jack laughed and stumbled forward with him, catching himself from falling and instead just sitting down in front of Mark. They ended up facing each other anyways, though now both on the floor, legs lightly brushing together.

"What you up to?" Jack asked.

"I was trying to hook up some of the wires in my computer, but its a pain in the ass."

"Oh I know, here let me see if I can help." He scooted forward and peered under the desk at where Mark was trying to arrange everything. "So you want your computer over here, then its gonna connect to the outlet over here. What was the problem?"

"I just don't know how to make it less messy, it seems all tangled. Plus somehow I think I messed up the wiring when I picked it up, so I have to sort that out."

"Oh fuck, well I'll leave that to you, but I have some zip ties for the wires if you want."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Jack nodded and pulled himself up. "Thank you!" Jack came back with the ties and started to work on the other boxes left, leaving Mark to sort out his computer. A few minutes in he decided music needed to be played and told Mark he'd be right back. He came back with his speaker and computer, placing both on the ground and playing the music he loved. He sung along with it while he worked, making Mark look over at him and smile before getting to his feet and singing loudly over him. Jack turned around and laughed loudly, fighting to be the loudest until both of them were practically screaming. It wouldn't have been complete without dad-level dancing, however, and that was exactly what they did. They were complete idiots apart, and even more so together. In fact that was what their friendship was based on, the lovable idiocy of the both of them.

Then of course, Mark's favorite song came on and he got way too into it. Jack cackled uncontrollably as Mark strutted around the room with his hands on his hips, pretending he was in a boyband or something. He turned his back to Jack, then swung his head back over his shoulder and looked directly at him. He jumped around to face him again and pointed to him, Jack mouthed the word 'me?' and pretended to fangirl wildly. The last chorus of the song hit and Jack was doubled over in laughter, Mark was still singing loudly as he ran over and picked Jack up by the waist. Jack screamed and flung his arms wildly as Mark attempted to lift him further.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" Jack said, laughing and yelling at the same time, making his words come out mashed together. Mark laugh and tossed his head backwards. He pulled Jack down towards him into a hug and laughed into his shoulder. Jack ignored the heat in his own cheeks and curled inwards towards him, letting his toes touch the ground.

"You're so tiny," Mark said, his words muffled from Jack's shoulder.

"Am not!" Mark lifted his head, their faces very close.

"Yeah you are." Jack smacked his chest lightly and smiled playfully at him. They looked at each other for a moment longer, realizing the position they were in, before Mark smirked and swung him through the air one more time. He let Jack fly out of his embrace this time, kicking and screaming. Suddenly he realized that the music was no longer on and walked over to see why, but instead noticed that it was lunch time and neither of them had eaten anything since their breakfast.

"Should we take a break for lunch?" Mark asked. Jack nodded.

"What do you want?"

"Can we just make like grilled cheeses or something?"

"I'm good with that," Jack said, walking down to the kitchen. It was a cloudy day outside making it dim in the kitchen, but neither bothered to turn the light on. They were all smiles and laughs, messing around and throwing cheese on each other to the point where there was more on the floor than on either of their sandwiches. For the rest of the day nothing really got done, because they spent most of it curled up on the couch together watching horror movies.

-

Anti had not left his room in days. Not since he had met with Lorelei. He was feeling sorry for himself again, and he missed his home dearly, something he hadn't felt for at least a couple of years. It was easy to repress and forget everything he had left behind, but with all of the memories that had been flowing back into him it was hard to do just that anymore. It was like the past was bombarding him, punishing him for trying to forget about it.

He had been avoiding sleep once again, and though it wasn't too hard for him he was incredibly bored. He found himself pacing back and forth more times than he could count just trying to waste the night away and shake the thoughts from his mind. It was always worse at night, he was more active then and got restless. The night before he had had a melt down, tearing into the wallpaper and leaving marks all over his window frame.

He watched the sunset outside his window from his bed, mesmerized. For the only time in his life, he dreaded the night coming. The lightly swirled blue and pink faded from the sky as the sun said goodbye and Anti rose from his seat to close the blinds. The less he could see of the outdoors the less he would be tempted to go out into it. They closed him into his bedroom for another night and he whimpered and laid his forehead against it. He wasn't sure why he was doing this to himself. Was he scared? He thought he had been past fear, having seen plenty of shit in his life to not be scared of anything anymore. But everyone has a fear, and combined with everything suppressed inside of him, it felt to him like the world was melting in front of him. He had a headache, something he didn't even know he was capable of having until the past few days.

It was even worse knowing who laid comfortably in the room below him. It made him want to tear his hair out, so much clashing energy in the same house was bound to cause an explosion. The only question in his mind was how soon. How long could he hold out? But he always knew it wouldn't be very long. Even with Jack showing up at his door every morning and at random intervals throughout the day, he couldn't listen to the begging to leave his room. He was staying in for Jack's safety, didn't he know that? Jack couldn't help him with this one, even if he really wanted to, even if it kept Jack up at night, because this time it kept Anti up too.

Shadows fell over Anti's face whilst he sat on the floor, back against his mattress. He stared up at the window, fingers twitching desperately. He wasn't even seeing his room, behind his eyes was the tree covered hiding spot where he and Dark had spent so much of their time together. He watched as his toddler form moved into its early teenage years and forward even more until it unavoidably became just him on his last night there. His body shook violently and suddenly he was looking at the window in his room once more. His head fell into his hands and he breathed heavily. He pushed the palms of his hands into the back of his eyes and welcomed the blackness behind them. Without opening his eyes he stood up and walked forward, not to the window but instead towards the door.

It had already become late in the night and both Mark and Jack should be asleep in their separate rooms. Anti touched the door handle cautiously, forcibly pulling his hand back as if in pain. He opened his eyes slowly, gulping when he came face to face with the dark wood of his door. In one swift movement he moved his hand forward and twisted his wrist, sending the door creaking open outwards. The hallway in front of him was empty, dark, and just as alone as his room was, though it held the certain feeling of being exposed.

He padded quietly across the soft carpet and looked both ways anxiously. Seeing nothing he continued on, going down the stairs and into the living room. He let out a small noise and leapt backwards when he noticed two figures on the couch bathed in the light of the T.V. still softly playing in the background, but they were both fast asleep and snoring faintly. Anti shook off his nerves and walked into the kitchen, moving slowly so as to avoid making any noise, and brought himself down a glass cup from the cupboard. He filled it with water, putting the tap on as small as he could make it. He brought it to his lips and savored the coolness of it in his dry mouth, it felt at least a little cleansing and made him wonder if he should sneak a shower in one of these days.

Within these thoughts he did not hear the footsteps approach behind him, or maybe there weren't any to begin with, but when every hair on his body stood on its end his muscles tensed and fear quickly worked its way into the pit of his stomach. He turned around reluctantly and the fear in his stomach climbed into his throat at the sight of the last thing he wanted to see. Dark stood two feet away from him, relaxed in his stance but fiery in his eyes. He could sense the emotions underneath Anti's skin easily, and he knew he should just turn and leave, but he wouldn't do that.

Dark's presence hardened something in Anti, and numbed all but anger inside of him. He stared into his eyes with a fierceness to match the other. A slow smile made its way onto Dark's face, mocking Anti and leaving him stone cold.

"You have a nice house," Dark said. Anti remained unmoved. He wasn't playing games tonight. "What's upsetting you, Anti?"

"You." The word came out rough and crackled. He hadn't spoken in what felt like forever

"You flatter me." Dark lifted his foot to take a step forward, but Anti was quicker. He threw the cup in his right hand down hard at the floor. The cup shattered against the tile, flinging water and glass shards everywhere. Dark winced briefly and moved his foot back.

"Don't come near me." Anti said, raising his voice louder with each word. He heard Jack's muffled voice from the living room, but never caught sight of his face. Dark gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists at his side. All Anti could see was red, all he could feel was rage. "This is all your fault! You did this to me, and you don't even care! You selfish son of a bitch, I hate you!"

"What did I do?" Dark was no longer calm and collected like he usually was, the resentment in his eyes spreading like wildfire.

"How did I get here, Dark? How did you get here?"

"You think that's my fault? I'm here too! Why would I do this to myself?"

"If you hadn't left me! If you hadn't fucking left me there, I wouldn't have almost died! We wouldn't have been caught! I would still have my fucking wings!" A sound of agony left Anti's throat and it was all he could do to stop his eyes from watering.

"I'm sorry about your wings, but you can't blame this on me. It was your idea.You got us caught, not me."

"No! You're a liar! You're a god damn liar, we could have done it! But not without you, and you knew that. You knew that and you still left." He was yelling so loudly at this point that a string of saliva dripped from his sharp teeth.

"We were fucked from the get go, everyone saw it but you! You thought we could take on a Keeper, something much stronger than any of us could face, even together. I left to save myself."

"Because that's all that matters, right?" A green aura had consumed him, a similar pink one around Dark, a blinding white light surpassing their eyes. Their bared teeth and hair stood on end made them almost seem like wild animals. It was terrifying to look at.

"Stop pinning this on me! You don't think I felt pain too? You didn't see me for a week after, but do you know why? Because it pained me that I left you! I've never regretted a single thing I've done ever in my entire life... except that."

Silence fell between them, the only sound the heavy breathing from both of them. "I went through physical pain," he ran a finger lightly under his eye. "Emotional pain, and then to top it all off I was ripped from my home and sent here. Just to fall face first into the same person who caused it all." His words held a sickening poison to them. He looked away from Dark and down at the floor, letting out a hiss. "I hate you," he snarled.

-

The sound of breaking glass was enough to send Jack tumbling off of the couch.

"Anti?" He said, rubbing his arm and opening his eyes. Mark was on the couch facing backwards towards the kitchen, he turned and looked at Jack with wide eyes. Yelling filled Jack's ears and he shuttered and shrunk in on himself. Suddenly Mark stood up and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away from the room and over to the stairs. Jack stopped at the edge and yanked on Mark's arm. "What's going on?" He looked over his shoulder, but Mark linked a finger under his chin and turned his face back around.

"They're fighting and I don't want us around here," Mark said. Jack nodded and took the initiative to run up the stairs and into his room. He sat in the far corner of his room, knees pulled up to his chest, and sighed deeply, leaning his head down into the palms of his hands and tugging at his hair. He felt Mark sit next to him and put a hand on his arm. Jack leaned back up for a moment to look into his eyes, then fell into his side and tucked his head into his shoulder. They sat there together, listening to the screams from downstairs until Jack's shoulders began to shake and Mark leaned his head in close to find that he had started crying. He rubbed his arm softly. "Hey, it'll be alright. We knew this was gonna happen at some point."

Jack sat up and looked him in the eyes, wiping at his face with the sleeves of his hoodie. "Not on the first night. It hasn't even been a full 24 hours."

"It could have just been coincidence." Jack looked at him miserably, making Mark sigh. "We can't give up yet."

"How are we going to live like this?"

"We're gonna make it work. It'll get easier, I promise." Jack nodded and leaned back into his side. The angry yelling had subdued for a moments notice, but sure enough there seemed no end to the argument. He heard a terrifying growl and the unmistakable boom of something falling over. Mark tightened his arm around his back when he heard the small whimper Jack let out. It only got worse from there- the cracks grew more frequent, the slurs of hatred louder, and the actual conversing shrank to none. Jack shook violently between Mark's arms, who held himself together through the agonizing cries coming from the small being he clung onto in the midst of all the roars.

A particularly loud rumble from below made Jack lift his head, coming close to knocking into Mark's chin. He hadn't realized how close they were, but he couldn't bring himself to move away. It felt as though if he left he wouldn't have Mark's strength with him anymore, he would just be alone and he wasn't sure he would even be able to hold himself up with just that.

"You okay?" Mark said softly, touching his forehead to Jack's. Jack nodded carefully and reached up to dry his eyes, but Mark caught his hand and pulled it into his chest, bringing them even closer than before and giving him a gentle hug. Jack rested his chin over Mark's shoulder and closed his eyes, trying to focus in on his breathing rather than the fighting. Mark trailed his fingers up and down his back, making aimless patterns. Another loud noise made Jack curl into his neck and it made Mark's heart ache desperately. He hated seeing him like this.

In one swift movement he pushed Jack away from his chest and looked deep into his eyes. He was about to reassure him as he had been all night, but was caught off guard. Jack looked so small in that moment, so fragile and scared. He wasn't sure why this had shaken him so thoroughly, but it made every instinct in his body stand at attention. And as he stared at Jack in awe, the other stared right back, lured by the strength in him. Neither could hear Dark or Anti anymore, only the beating of their own heart, which beat in time with the others.

Slowly their heads leaned in closer until they were a fraction of a centimeter apart. Mark stopped, worried that he might be taking advantage of him in this state, but Jack moved forward and touched their lips together. Slowly, they began moving their lips in time, closing their eyes and timidly exploring the other's mouth. Jack's lips were dry and salty from the tears, but Mark didn't care. His hand moved on its own towards the bottom of Jack's jaw, cupping his head. Something in his chest told him he had wanted this for a long time, but it felt like he couldn't cherish it enough. He felt Jack's hands grasp tenderly at his chest. Jack hummed quietly into his lips and tilted his head. He opened his mouth for Mark's tongue, but was cut off.

The loud ripping of fabric filled the room, sending them both flying backwards. Suddenly it was like time had resumed around them, and they could hear everything clear as day once more. A different kind of thumping caught their attention. It grew louder and louder as whoever it was made their way up the stairs and came closer to them. Jack lifted his head and froze at the sight of a shadow beneath his door. His hand linked with Mark's in fear. The figure snarled angrily, let out a puff of air, and opened the door to the room on the other side of the hall. They sat still in shock, before the loud boom of the front door made both of them jump. Jack let the relief flow into him finally, because at long last it was over. At least now without the loud sounds to remind him, he could recover his senses.

Mark stood up, pulling Jack with him. Jack stumbled over to the bed and sat down. Mark stood in front of him and Jack played with his hand in his lap. He looked up at Mark through his hair, he was exhausted in all aspects of the word and just wanted to go to sleep, but Mark wasn't sitting down. Mark gazed shyly into his eyes.

"Stay with me," Jack said quietly. Mark nodded and gently pulled his hand back. He moved around the bed and got in on the other side. They both laid down and faced each other. It only took a moment for Jack to get up the courage to move in closer and for Mark to wrap his arm around him once more. They fell asleep listening to the calm sounds of each other's light breathing and steady heartbeat.


	11. Chapter 11

Mark woke up the next morning alone and not in his own room. Immediately the night flooded back to him so quickly he had to shut his eyes to comprehend it all. He turned onto his back and put his arms behind his head. It was a lot to think about, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to yet. He rose from the bed and checked his phone for the time. It was still really early, oddly enough, at only 8:13. He looked down at the clothes he had slept in and sighed, before walking out and downstairs. He knew that Dark had left the house last night, and he wasn't back yet. It would probably be a few days before he saw any sign of him again.

The living room was a mess. Broken pieces of glass were everywhere, the sofa was torn and spewing fuzz in a few places, and everything was about a foot away from its original place. Mark stood still and ran a hand through his hair. It was going to be a pain in the ass to clean all this mess up, and he had already started cursing the two demons for it.

Jack wasn't in the kitchen or the living room, but hidden away in his office. Mark wasn't even sure if he was working, or just contemplating life. Whichever it was, he looked back at Mark when he entered and a small smile slipped onto his face. Mark felt the muscles in his back relax and he smiled back.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Jack said, spinning his chair to face him fully. Mark walked over and sat on the arm of his chair, making Jack's smile widen.

"How are you?"

"Better. I made myself some tea."

"Oh yeah? And did you save any for me?" Mark lifted one eyebrow at him, but he just laughed and stood up.

"Of course I did, you big dork. But you'll have to heat it up." Mark followed him out of the room.

"How long ago did you wake up?"

"Oh, uh, like an hour ago. I don't know I just couldn't really sleep all that well." Mark nodded sympathetically. They walked into the kitchen together and Mark watched as Jack poured him a cup of cold tea and put it in the microwave. He leaned back against the counter and stared absentmindedly. Mark watched him curiously, unsure if he should say something or not. The microwave dinged after a moment and Jack walked forward to check on it, but it wasn't warm enough yet so he put it back in. Mark put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. He wasn't sure what to say, but he was tired of feeling the space between them.

Jack looked down to try and hide his smile, but Mark could see it anyways. He stretched his arms around him into a tight hug, unknowingly rocking them back and forth. Jack breathed out through his nose and put his forehead on his chest. The microwave beeped again from behind him and he let out a chuckle before wiggling out of Mark's grasp. He pulled out the cup and handed it to Mark, who almost burnt his tongue by tasting it.

"Sorry," Jack said, laughing quietly. He sat down at the kitchen table while Mark put a couple ice cubes into his drink. He followed after Jack and sat across from him at the table.

"So," he said, watching the ice melt in his drink.

"So."

"Have you heard from them at all?"

"No." Jack shook his head.

"Is Anti still in his room?"

"I don't know." Mark fell silent. Jack coughed and sat up straight in his seat.

"Just ask, Mark." He looked him dead in the eyes and Mark gave him a small, sheepish smile.

"Did last night change us?" Jack took a deep breath, steadying himself and keeping the eye contact.

"I think I want it to." A spark of excitement gleaned in Mark's eyes, causing a wide smile to take over Jack's face.

"I think I do too." They looked at each other brightly, then Jack sprung up and walked over to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him up into another hug.

"So, are we, like, dating now? Or what?" He asked quietly.

"Hell yeah we are," Mark said, picking him up and twirling him around out of excitement. Jack laughed giddily and smacked his shoulder.

"Put me down, ya bastard!" Mark complied for once, but only to pull him in once again and kiss him on the lips. They shared a short sweet kiss, before separating. Mark took a deep breath to calm himself down. "What do you wanna do today?"

"I don't know, what do you wanna do today?" Jack couldn't wipe the smile off of his face.

"Be with you."

"You're already being sappy, this is going to be a nightmare." Jack shook his head playfully. "Really, though, I have to record today."

"So do I, why don't we do something together?" Jack made a noise of agreement.

"Yes! We're doing that, oh fuck yeah. What should we play?"

"Can we do Rocket League?" Jack nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go!" They walked a few steps before realizing they would have to go to their separate rooms.

"But wait, I don't wanna leave you," Mark said, pouting. Jack pouted to mock him.

"Oh no, guess you'll have to see me later," he said and ran out of the room. Mark watched him leave then ran upstairs to where his stuff was set up.

The house filled now again with the shouts of two, though now they were lighthearted and lively. The day and night cycle changed the household drastically. The next few hours continued on in the same fashion until lunch came around and Jack went out to bring them back some food. They ate lunch on the couch, sat far closer than they would've the day before, and watched the Food Network. Jack turned to Mark once they had both finished eating.

"I wanna show you something," he said. Mark faced him with a curious look on his face and nodded.

"Go ahead." Jack stood up, Mark right behind him, and lead him out the back door and into the woods behind the house. Mark jogged to catch up with him and grabbed his hand gently. Jack looked over at him and smiled briefly before starting to run and pull Mark along with him. He took him to his favorite tree, a big one that grew fairly close to the house and had lots of branches. He used to love climbing them and trying to read in the tops of the trees. Sometimes he went there to think of new ideas or just to clear his brain some. He let go of Mark's hand and leaped up onto the first low-hanging branch then swung his legs over the side and looked down on Mark, who stared at him in minor awe having not been expecting that.

"Come on up," Jack said, calling down to him. Mark didn't hesitate in climbing after him, but as soon as he reached where Jack sat, Jack had already moved up to the next branch. They continued playing until Jack couldn't get up any higher, but when he looked down his breath caught. Why hadn't he realized sooner what he was doing? He shuffled backwards on his butt towards the trunk of the tree and gripped tightly onto it. Mark stepped up beside him and sat down.

"Everything okay?" He had noticed Jack's anxiety. Jack nodded and gulped.

"Just not used to being up this high." Mark scooted in closer and wrapped his arm around his back.

"I know you're afraid of heights, why didn't you stop?" Jack looked at him, embarrassed.

"I was having too much fun." Mark laughed loudly and squeezed his side.

"How are you so cute?" Jack blushed.

"Stop it! This is serious business! But so are you," he said and pecked him on the lips. "Can we just go down a few?"

"Yeah." Jack closed his eyes and breathed deeply, then lifted himself and slowly lowered himself down to the next branch and so on. He made it fine and smiled back up at Mark, who had waited for him to get there safely. Mark climbed down next to him and they sat talking and watching the sky until night fell. The sunset seemed extra gorgeous that night, or maybe it was just the prospect of love on the horizon.

They went to sleep that night in the same bed again, wrapped together under the covers and finding it much easier to sleep that way.

-

Dark landed on the outcropping of a cliff and turned around to face the cave opening he had seen from afar. A growl rose from the dark interior and the silhouette of a large bear formed from the shadows. Dark bared his teeth and let a guttural snarl resound from his throat, proving to be quite easy for him as he was still raging from the fight with Anti. The hair on the bear's back rose and it shifted into an aggressive stance. Dark took no hesitation in showing it who was really scarier.

He claimed the cave for himself and kicked all the leftovers and shit to the sides . He paced for a while then walked to the opening of the cave and leaned against the rock wall. Then sun was setting and it stirred something in him, moving him to kick off once again and fly out over the tree tops.

-

Anti never stopped flying from the minute he left his room. He had waited until it was unlikely he would run into Dark in the sky and then taken to it himself. He zipped past towns and through small canyons, over lakes and into clouds. He felt nothing and heard nothing, it was like all his senses were failing. He couldn't tell if the water dripping down his cheeks had come from the clouds or from his eyes.

He never wanted to go back, not even for Jack. It seemed pointless, it wasn't like any of them cared about him anyways. He could fly on forever and no one would notice. He didn't even stop to eat until he wasn't strong enough to keep up his smoke form and plummeted towards the ground. He was able to access it enough to slow the fall in small bursts, but he still cut a deep gash into his side on impact with the trees. He hung from a branch suspended from his hoodie and was too weak to do anything but let his weight rip through the cloth and send him tumbling to the ground with a defeated thump. And after it all he wasn't even able to get food for himself, he just laid on his side until he passed out.

-

_The sounds of low, devilish moans reverberated from all sides. Anti took a slow step forward, tightening his grip on the spear in his hand. He was ready to spin at a moments notice, muscles taut in preparation. His two green eyes lit up the space in front of him and he turned his head to the side, careful to avoid shining onto the walls. He met the eyes of his red companion. Dark was stalking through the confined space next to him, appearing unaffected and cool though Anti could see the calculation in his eyes. They crept forward together silently, keeping as far from the sides of the passage as they could._

_Reaching the end of the stone hallway they walked into an open, dimly lit chamber. A hearty orange glow emitted from the crackling fire at the other side of the room and Dark immediately moved towards it, but Anti held him back by the arm, giving him a firm shake of the head. Dark obeyed and fell into step next to him again. Anti kept towards the side of this room, aware of the likely traps laid out within it. A misstep lead him to almost having an arrow sent straight through his head, but Dark was quick to strike forward with his spear and knock it away. Anti glanced at him in a form of thanks._

_The further they went the harder it was to avoid all the traps set out, and as they approached the final few yards they both made what could easily have been a fatal mistake. The tips of their spears touched the top of the ceiling as they moved into a smaller space and a sheer whistle erupted from all around them, its origin impossible to tell. The sound of pounding and flapping joined it and before they knew it the whole place was filled with the creatures piling in the hall. Anti let out a shriek and raised his weapon up, turning his back towards Dark and lowering into a fighting stance. The creatures leapt around, showing off their deadly sharp claws and teeth. They were almost twice as big as them and just as fierce._

_The spots on their back glowed as bright white as their many eyes did, and they had long spiked tails that could easily bludgeon a head in. Anti snarled and surged forward, hearing Dark growl in response. They moved in a circle keeping the monsters at bay and swinging at each chance they got. Anti bumped into Dark's back, ducked, and side stepped in front of him knowing that Dark would follow his lead. They switched sides to throw the monsters off, and it worked, because he heard the distinct slice of flesh from behind him and a rumble from an injured creature. There were so many of them, though, that Anti was beginning to feel sick._

_The image of his mom flashed through his mind, followed by Dark's mom and dad and little sister. A cry of anger left his throat, so loud and emotional that the creatures in front of him pounced at him, but he was ready and threw them off with the combination of his spear and wings. One was still too close though and he was forced to dodge its huge teeth, but in doing so got closer and swiped his claws across its throat, sending the first one to the floor. He heard the short bark of a lifeless laugh from behind him and a malicious grin spread across his face._

_From the corner of his eye he saw a monster jump headlong at him, too fast for him to react and fear filled his chest until a pink wing shot out in front of him and he caught a glimpse of a wicked smirk. He was quick to move back, but was met again with the long legs of another one. It tried to spear him through the chest, but he was quicker and hit it over the head with his own weapon. He was vaguely aware of the fact that they were not killing nearly enough to be able to escape alive, and his mind started to work as he fought. A quick intake of breath caught his attention and he shifted to see that Dark had triggered a trap to open up into a pit and had fallen into it. He knew there were most likely spikes at the bottom, but Dark was able to orient himself and fly upwards in time._

_Anti sprinted over to him and pushed the creatures away from the opening so that Dark could get out again, but it had given him an idea. He made a brief click to get Dark's attention, and he looked to him immediately. He maneuvered himself around so that three of the creatures were positioned in front of an arrow trap he could see and used the end of his spear to hit the stone he figured would release them. The arrow flew through the air and tore through the chest of all three, the poison laced into its head easily taking care of them. They all dropped to the floor dead, and Dark looked impressed for a minute until a flurry of darts shot from across the room and a shower of sparks rained from the ceiling. The dead bodies had caused a chain reaction by triggering more traps, which then killed more creatures and set off more traps. Both Anti and Dark ducked under their wings, but Anti wasn't quick enough and a dart grazed his arm._

_He yelled out in pain and tightly gripped onto his arm, trying to ease the pain. He knew he had to do something about the poison fast, so he removed his hand and looked into the steaming slice along the side of his arm. Without thinking he ripped into it with his teeth and removed a good sized chunk, hoping that he had contained all the poison. Blood dripped from his mouth and pieces of broken skin stuck to the sides of his teeth. It looked bad, and hurt like hell, but was nothing he couldn't heal from. Dark was watching him with mild concern from the wall, moving from side to side impatiently and deflecting the occasional creature snapping at his head._

_Anti maneuvered his way over to him and the two ran along the side of the room and out through the hallway they had entered in. Behind them the building seemed to be falling apart and all they heard were screeches and cries from the inside. They narrowly escaped by the ends of their wings, but somehow they made it out alive. Anti cackled and shouted out in pure hysteria, while Dark smiled at him from a few feet away. Anti darted over to his side, placing a hand on his arm and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Dark laughed softly and pushed him away, but the wound on Anti's arm quickly caught his attention._

_"We have to get you home," he said, his face relaxing into its natural seriousness. Anti sobered up and nodded, punching him in the arm for good measure. They flew back home side by side, laughing and teasing each other about the adventure._

-

Dark sat around the fire he had put together, staring deeply into its flames. They were so enticing, close friends of his with a friendly warmth to them. Eventually looked up at the stars twinkling above him. Everything was mocking him. It all seemed to be having such a good time, but never with him. He sat in the same spot all night, waiting for something to snap.

To him it passed in the blink of an eye, though it very much did not to everyone else. The sun was the only thing, it seemed, that was able to waken him from his stupor and warm his muscles as if they had been frozen. Come to once again he snarled angrily and began to pace. The space around him grew hot and the hair on his skin began to raise up. He was getting himself worked up again, the pink and black smoke in his natural aura had started to pulsate against his skin. He finally dropped to his knees and let a raw roar rip through his throat.

He was breathing heavily now, both hands on the ground as he leaned over. He blew the hair out of his face and stood up, visibly trying to compose himself then took a running leap off the edge of the cliff. He was suddenly only a puff of smoke, and then it took on the form of a large hawk soaring through the air. It's black wings spread wide, feathers ruffling in the air as any other bird's would have. The bird wobbled in the wind and swerved to the right, making a huge arc.

He oriented himself towards home, knowing that Anti would be gone and would not be coming back for a while He flapped his great wings a few times and floated through the sky lazily. Once past the trees, a group of geese enveloped him and flew around his body. He lurched to the side and snapped at them with his beak, sending them away in a flurry of feathers and squawks. He flew alone the rest of the way, his back to the sun.

A small movement on the ground caught his eye and he dove downwards towards it. A rat skittered away from his claws desperately, but to no avail. In one foul swoop he picked it up and landed on the ground, it's fleshy body pinned to the dirt by his talons. He let out a caw and dug in, consuming the whole thing. He left nothing but the bones behind and took off once again into the sky.

-

The pelting of rain onto his face finally moved Anti into consciousness once more. His eyes blinked open lazily, trying to figure out what had just happened. His head ached relentlessly and his entire body didn't want to respond to his commands. His energy had been sapped to little above nothing and he needed some sort of food badly. He moved his head around, groaning in pain, to try and get the feel for where he was. Rain was still splattering down his body, wetting everything exposed and sending chills throughout him.

With great difficulty he sat up, he was in a forested area. He felt pain spike in his stomach and curled inwards with the pain. He had only felt hunger like this a few times in his life, and every time he reminded himself to never let it get to this point again. Sometimes, though, he didn't even listen to himself. He sat and breathed deeply for a few minutes before hoisting himself onto his feet, then consequently stumbling forward until he was leaning all of his weight onto a tree in front of him. He sighed through his nose and scrunched up his face, hating being this weak.

"C'mon, Anti," he said to himself. He pushed off of the tree and took a slow, agonizing step forward. Having made the progress he grew confident and tried to take a fast step this time, only to fall to the ground in a heap once again. He was tired and dejected from the failure, and didn't really know what to do. He pulled his legs in close to his chest and closed his eyes again, refusing to drift into sleep again and see his and Dark's younger forms. It was an all new level of torture that he couldn't stand anymore.

-

Dark flew for hours, taking detours, and tormenting everything he could. He found he loved the form of birds, he could live forever as one if he so chose, but by midnight he was circling the roof of his own house. He knew Anti wasn't there, but the other two would be. He landed on the tiles of the roof and flowed back into his human form, now the figure of a man standing tall and bathed in moonlight. His eyes hummed pink lightly and he opened his arms up to the sky one last time before resigning himself to the confines of the house and slipping in through the kitchen window.

The house was pitch black, not a sound echoing through it, even as Dark walked deliberately to where he knew Mark was sleeping. For once, he realized that Mark was not aware of his arrival. It was peculiar to say the least, but the reason was obvious to him the moment he opened the door to his room and took in the green haired body wrapped around him. He let out a long breath to get rid of the tension building in his shoulders at the sight. A realization was swirling through his mind. He stepped across the room, but paused when Jack moved. His eyes, darkened by the lack of light, sprang open and his body jerked suddenly. He looked like he was panting, and when his eyes landed on the third person in the room he blinked several times. He sat up slightly trying to make out its presence.

He put a hand softly on Mark's arm, but the man was fast asleep. He didn't break eye contact with Dark, but simply watched as he glided forward and disappeared into Mark's body. He looked down into Mark's face curiously, reaching out a hand to touch it before stopping himself short. He shuffled down into the bed and scooted back a bit, lying his head back down. His eyes wouldn't close though, and he found it took him hours to go back to sleep, especially with the flash in his dream that had woken him up.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack slept temperamentally and was up early in the morning for the third day in a row. He left Mark asleep in the bed and made his way through the house and to the back door. He took little time in leaving and embracing the morning dew in the air. It was misty outside and the sun had just risen. He walked briskly to the woods and out to his tree before realizing that he didn't feel like standing still and continued to walk. In the back of his mind he knew he should have left some sort of note for Mark, but at the front of it was something much more important. Anti.

Anxiety ran through his chest at the thought of the demon. He knew he shouldn't pity the thing, but he also knew him better than anyone else would. He was worried that he had gotten himself into trouble, as he usually did, but with what the flashes had shown it was getting worse. He shook his hands out and maneuvered carefully through the brush, trying to clear his mind and get out coherent thoughts. The night before last it looked like he had been falling but was hung up by something. Last night all he saw was the ground and his claws, like he was laying down but was chilled to the core at the low growl he had heard from behind him.

"Fuck," he said under his breath. From what he could conclude, Anti might be hurt and in an unsafe place. He wished he had more information, it was practically eating him alive not knowing. He returned to the house before Mark would have woken up, just to clear his conscious on that. The walk hadn't really solved anything for him, but it was a relief to feel some clean air on him. Ever since Dark had returned last night he had felt like he was choking on everything. Remembering his encounter with Dark he sighed, Mark would never even worry about that one and it made him feel stupid and just a tiny bit jealous. He would never understand why Jack stressed so much over Anti, because he had never had to. It was just a fact.

Mark didn't wake up for hours, and in that time Jack spent his time trying to get work done, though his mind was really elsewhere. He hadn't felt right since the fight, it it was constantly bearing down on his mind. At least yesterday he was able to distract himself by cleaning up the house with Mark, they had fixed mostly everything that could be fixed and thrown away everything that couldn't. Needless to say it looked much better, and the less evidence of that night the better in his opinion. When Mark came down finally, Jack was laying on the couch mindlessly watching T.V. Mark smiled and sat down on his chest.

"Hello," he said. Jack groaned loudly and bent inwards.

"Hello to you too, now get off of me."

"Not before I do this." Mark leaned down and pressed their lips together, and Jack melted into him easily. It only took him a moment to get his senses back and push him off again.

"Gross, you have morning breath," Jack said, pretending to gag. Mark laughed and took a big gulp of air before bringing himself down again and putting his forehead on top of Jack's. Jack grinned madly and kissed him again briefly. "Right, that's enough of that. Off." Mark leaned back and got off of him allowing Jack to stand up.

"Have you eaten yet?" Jack shook his head. "I can make us something."

"Okay." Jack smiled politely and Mark walked away into the kitchen. Jack reached to turn the T.V. off and followed him in.

"Hey, Jack?" Mark said, his back still to Jack. He turned around and jumped seeing that Jack was already there. "Oh, I uh. Well... Dark is back." He looked down as he said it, dreading seeing Jack's reaction. Jack was relieved he already knew and had had time to process it before seeing Mark. When he didn't respond, Mark looked up at him cautiously.

"I know, Mark." Jack said, walking forward and sliding an arm around his waist.

"You do?" Jack nodded. "How?"

Jack held back a laugh, "I saw him come in last night." Mark's eyebrows furrowed in worry and he wrapped his arms around Jack's frame.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Jack shook his head.

"It's fine. I actually wanted to talk to you about that, or well, something similar."

"What's wrong?" Jack paused before moving out of his grip and leaning forward against the counter top.

"It's Anti. You know how I told you I saw him falling yesterday in my dream? I saw him again last night, but this time he was laying on the ground. And then I heard something, I think it was a growl from, well, I don't know where. Mark, I'm so worried, what am I gonna do?" The distress was clear on Jack's face and he put his head in his hands. Mark put his hand on his back and rubbed small circles. "What if he can't get back?" He looked up at Mark, features hardened into a grave expression. "What if he dies out there?"

"Can demons die?"

_"We can go into a death-like state, but no we cannot 'die' like you humans. That does, however, leave the possibility of never finding him again."_ The bitter voice of Dark hummed through his head. Jack looked up at him curiously, realizing from the look on his face that Dark was probably talking to him.

"He said no, only a 'death-like state'." Jack nodded.

"Would he be able to get out of that himself?"

_"No."_

"I don't think so." Jack sighed and looked down again.

"So it's just as bad."

"I'm really sorry, Jack." Jack gave a small nod and Mark placed his finger under his chin and turned his face to him once more. He could feel Dark tense inside of him and it made his stomach churn, but he pushed him down and leaned forward anyways, connecting their lips and moving slowly. Jack's hand reached up to play with the ends of his hair and Mark moaned softly, causing Jack to smile. Mark moved in front of him and put his hands on either side of the counter, pressing them closer together, but Jack pulled back laughing and fell into his chest.

"What?" Mark said, curving his neck to look down at him.

"Nothing, you're just- I," he started giggling. "You're so cute." Mark smiled down on him then grabbed him by the sides and kissed his cheek sloppily. Jack screeched and squirmed in his grip. "Mark!"

"Nope. No escaping now," he said. Jack stopped moving and pouted at him. "You wanna go to the diner for breakfast?" Jack perked up and nodded contentedly.

"Yeah! Bet I can get ready quicker." Jack winked at him and took off up the stairs.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Mark said, running after him.

"Life's not fair!" Jack said over his shoulder. They went to their separate rooms and threw clothes on, caring more about winning then how they looked. Jack raced back down the stairs, and Mark looked out of his room, cursing. Jack leaned his back against the door with a smug look on his face and Mark met him with one of annoyance.

"You cheated."

"Prove it." Jack stuck his tongue out at him and turned around, opening the front door. He let Mark walk out then locked it and got in the driver's seat of his car. He put his music on loudly and sung along as he drove down the familiar road, looping his fingers into Mark's on the armrest.

They arrived soon enough, sitting down at the only empty table and ordering their usual. Jack looked across at Mark and couldn't help a smile from spreading across his face as he realized how happy it made him to be around him all the time.

"What?"

"You're cute."

"Stop saying that! You can't just say that every time."

"I can and I will."

"Noo, c'mon, tell me. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Jack looked at him in disbelief.

"You know what's going on in here." He pointed to his head. "But really I was thinking about you. You make me happy, babe." He grinned mischievously.

"Oh, so you're calling me 'babe' now, yeah?" Jack nodded proudly.

"Yes ma'am." Mark raised his eyebrows at him.

"You're such a nerd." Jack smiled dorkily and nodded his head.

"Of course." Their drinks came to the table and they thanked their waitress politely.

"So I have a question, then. I guess I'm not moving back out, right?" Jack tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"Oh that's right. I forgot you were ever planning on leaving me." He gave him a pointed look. "But no I suppose there's no point now. I mean if you ever want to, then yeah I won't stop you, but I don't really want you to."

"Okay I was just making sure, I would feel weird if I didn't pass it by you at least once." Jack smiled at him.

"Because you're just such a gentleman." Mark laughed and slumped over in his seat.

"Fuck yeah, baby." Jack laughed with him and they chatted for a while longer until the food came. They ate their meal quickly and Jack paid before heading back to the car.

"Ooh, I have an idea. Can we go to the farmers market today?" Jack turned his attention from the road and looked at him.

"Oh yeah, I haven't been in forever. Honestly I forgot we had one."

"I used to go all the time, but yeah when you live a ways out I guess it isn't really worth it."

"It's still nice though, and we're already here. Let's do it." He took the next right and drove towards it, though some traffic was beginning to build up. "Okay, WHAT the FUCK are you doing, sir. Please put your god damn turn signal on. Please- Oh my GOD, GO FORWARD."

"Shh, it's okay, Jack. We're going, it's fine." Mark giggled at him and his road rage, he had to admit this place was full of old people who went ten miles under the speed limit. The stoplight in front of them turned red just as they reached it and Jack laughed and put his head into his hands.

"The world is against me." Soon enough, they did finally make it to the farmers market and found a close parking spot to their pleasant surprise. They walked in hand in hand, cheerfully smiling and making jokes. A couple of weird looks from other people walking by set them on edge, but it wasn't enough to discourage them. They roamed through the place for a few hours, buying whatever fresh food looked good and eating dinner together before they left. It was a cute place to have a first date of sorts.

On their way out a lanky, black cat caught Jack's attention. He paused to looked closer at it, particularly interested it's eyes, which had looked green out of the corner of his eye. He took a step forward and it's head snapped up to glare at him, but he was only met with the amber eyes of a normal house cat exploring the streets. He sighed and looked over his shoulder to see Mark watching him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just thought..." He looked down, embarrassed. "Never mind." Mark understood and nodded.

"Okay, you ready to go?" Jack nodded and began walking towards the car, keeping a step ahead of him. He stayed quiet on the way home, pretending to be into the music playing, but really just lost in his thoughts. His mind remained on Anti, sorting through ways of finding him. Even when he pulled up to the house he just sat there and stared at the brick wall for a minute before Mark called out to get his attention and they left the car.

"Hey, Mark," he said, making Mark stop with one hand on the front door and turn to face him. "Do you think, uh. Do you think, maybe, Dark could look for Anti?" Mark's facial features dropped when Jack asked the question, it was one he had hoped he wouldn't have to answer. He took a few steps closer to Jack and softened his facial features.

"I wouldn't count on it," he said delicately.

"Can't you at least ask him?"

"Jack, it doesn't-" Mark stopped talking halfway through, almost choking on the words, and a sharp pink glow faded onto his eyes. His demeanor changed completely from caring and cautious to overbearing and powerful, an aura of evil exuding off of him. It was a shift Jack rarely ever saw, and he gulped anxiously.

"You ask questions you don't want the answers to. I warn you to be careful in that sense. It can be-" He paused and moved swiftly towards Jack, who was feeling more and more meager in comparison. "Dangerous." He drew the word out and smiled maliciously at him. "No. I will not find your little pet, what would that gain me? Have you considered that maybe he doesn't want to be found? That he might not want to come back anymore?" With one last mocking grin, the shadow seemed to retract from the form and Mark regained his control. He gasped in a breath and swayed a bit before becoming angry and upset.

"You asked for it, well there you go." He turned on his heel and walked into the house. Jack stood there, alone in the failing light. He was tired, having been up for over 12 hours, and sapped emotionally. He was distressed and terrified, never had he encountered Dark like that before. And now to add on, he was alone. He put a hand over his open mouth as his eyes began to water and walked backward slowly, then wrapped his arms around himself and got back in his car. With tears streaming down his face he started it up and drove right back down the driveway.

He didn't know where he was going or for how long, but he needed to leave. He needed to get away right now, and so he drove away from town this time and just continued going until the tears blurred his vision to the point where he couldn't drive safely anymore and he pulled over next to a corn field. The sun was low in the sky above him and warped with the water in front of his eyes. He got out and leaned against his car, letting the golden light bathe over him. He leaned in and turned the radio in his car on, leaving the door open so that he could listen to the soft melodies hang in the air. It was his favorite time of the day.

-

Anti pushed up onto his knees, throwing off the leaves that had scattered over his body. The wound in his side burned and the more he looked at it the more he figured it was probably infected. He couldn't care less at this point. He was tired of hiding from things he could usually fight off easily, tired of laying in the same place, and just tired in general because he hadn't allowed himself any sleep. Ignoring the pain igniting his entire body, he stood up. This time he was able to balance himself.

He wobbled and used a tree to prop himself up. He could do this, he just had to keep pushing on. He needed to get some strength back, then he could do whatever he wanted. He brought his hand away from the tree and began to walk forward. With each step his vision blurred and he felt sicker. He blinked a few times and tried to move towards another tree, but suddenly the sight before him had changed slightly. He started seeing the purple and grey bushes from his childhood mixed in with the real world. He was so out of it that he couldn't even tell the difference. The world spun in front of him and he stumbled forward, throwing a hand out to catch the tree he had been directed towards. He stared at the scene in front of him in a daze trying to make sense of why he was back home.

He swore he heard a giggle from behind him and tried to turn as fast as he could, but it made his vision black out for a second. Nothing was there. Then he heard a different voice, even more familiar, surrounding his mind. He was so disoriented he fell to his knees, feeling like he was going to throw up. His stomach cramped up and he cried out and leaned forward, pounding his head into the ground. He couldn't tell who was calling him anymore, only that there were voices all around him, driving him crazy. His nails dug into the soil around his head, his eyes squeezed shut and he panted heavily. There was nothing to throw up or he would have already, and with one last excruciating throb from his side he fell unconscious once more. His body relaxed finally and dropped lifeless to the ground.

-

Jack stood outside of the front door to his own house and sighed. He hesitated for a moment before pushing his hand forward and forcing himself to open the door and walk in. It was dark out now and he hoped Mark would be asleep, despite all odds of him being so. He closed the door slowly and walked through the quiet house into the kitchen to grab himself a glass of water. A soft thumping from above him made him roll his eyes and brace himself. Mark rounded the corner a second later with a nervous look on his face. He paused once he caught Jack looking at him, then took a few cautious steps forward.

"I'm sorry." Jack looked away. "You don't know what it feels like to get taken over by him. I just felt sick and irritable and I snapped at you when I shouldn't have." His voice was quiet and deliberate. Jack nodded, still not looking at him, and wrapped his arms around himself. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." He finally looked over at Mark, who swallowed and took a step closer.

"Will you forgive me?"

"Of course. I love you." He looked straight into Mark's eyes when he said it, giving it a meaning that it had never held before. A deeper feeling behind the words they had said many times. Mark reached out a grabbed his hand gently, pulling it away from his body.

"I love you too." He couldn't stop himself from smiling softly at him. Jack leaned onto his tip toes and pressed a short kiss to his lips, then backed away. Mark let his hand slide out of his grasp.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed for tonight, but uh, I wanna be alone, if that's alright." He scratched at his arm idly and watched as Mark's face fell.

"Yeah, yeah of course. Whatever you're most comfortable with." He covered up his emotions quickly, stepping forward and pulling Jack into a hug. Jack leaned into his warmth and comfort, staying like that for a few minutes before pulling away and kissing him goodnight on the cheek. Mark waited for him to get up the stairs, then he poured himself a glass of water and retreated to his own room alone for the night. He sat on the foot of his bed and rubbed his hands down his face, tugging at his hair in mild frustration. He was an idiot. How could he hurt Jack like that, someone who meant the entire world to him? As soon as he had reached his room earlier he had known he made a huge mistake, but there was no taking it back and Dark was unusually happy with the circumstances.

He sat there in mourning of the nights sleep he would probably loose without Jack in his arms, when the deep voice that had caused the fiasco rung out in his head.

_"You are a fool."_

"Shut up," he said bitterly.

_"You think I'm in the wrong."_

"Of course I fucking do."

_"You know I'm not, though."_ Mark rolled his eyes.

"No, stop. I'm not getting brainwashed by you. You aren't going to ruin my life."

_"But you're going to let him brainwash you."_

"He's not brainwashing me! I love him." Mark's face dropped at the admission and his voice grew quieter. "I love him." Dark said nothing. "Yeah, that'll shut you up. And you are wrong, because you're just being bratty. You can't really imagine I'd believe that you don't care about Anti anymore? You always have, you always will. Even if you always pretend you hate him." Dark's form stretched away from Mark's body, taking shape in front of him, his eyes as fiery pink as they always were. Mark didn't look at him and he didn't say anything in return, he only turned away and flew out of the room to God knows where. Mark didn't believe he was going to be Anti's hero, he was far too stubborn for that.


	13. Chapter 13

Mark woke up cold and uncomfortable. He grimaced when he looked for Jack and swung himself out of bed. He went downstairs to look for the man, but was unable to locate him. For once, he realized, he was awake before Jack, which was a weird sensation. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, but he started by making himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He took it back upstairs into his office, playing around a bit before starting to work. A while later Jack poked his head in and said good morning, but that was it. It was still awkward between the two, and Mark wasn't really sure what he could do about it. He figured Jack had really forgiven him, but was still in a strange mindset with Anti.

The majority of the day they spent working as a scapegoat, eating separately and keeping to themselves. It felt shitty to both of them, but neither was sure how to work through it. Mark spun in his desk chair with his hand on his chin, thinking. He wanted to make it up to Jack, even if he had forgiven him, because it hurt him to know that Jack might be in pain. He decided on dinner, he wanted to make them a surprise meal of some sort. At first he planned to just make their kitchen table look nice, until he had the idea to make a picnic. He knew Jack loved the outdoors, and he did as well, so he quietly made spaghetti using some of the fresh ingredients they had bought yesterday and packed a small meal for them to take outside. He wanted to go and sit under the tree Jack had shown him.

He couldn't find a basket to carry it all in however, so he put everything in plastic containers and took a towel from his bathroom and brought it himself to the spot. It was still early in the evening and the light glistened through the trees, and he began to grow excited thinking about Jack's face when he saw all of it. He hoped it would make him happy, and that maybe he would get that cute, childish smile on his face. Mark shook the smile from his own face and looked over his work, it was quaint looking in a sort of hand made but heartfelt way. It definitely wasn't perfect, but he thought it would do.

He walked briskly back to the house and accidentally banged open the back door, causing Jack to pop up around the top of the stairs and look down curiously. Mark beamed up at him.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art though Romeo?" Mark called up to him. A smile spread across Jack's face and he started laughing.

"I think it's supposed to be the other way around."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't Juliet supposed to be on the balcony?"

"Actually I think she's supposed to be in my arms." Mark smirked at him and winked. Jack blushed lightly and made his way down the stairs. He swayed over into Mark's arms and looked into his eyes playfully.

"Did you just call me a girl?"

"Maybe. But whatever you are, I love you." Jack's fingers curled against his chest. He hummed in agreement and leaned in, smoothly pressing their lips together and passionately kissing him. He let all the longing he had built up throughout the day flow out. Mark's tongue slipped into Jack's mouth, causing Jack to hold back a laugh that just ended up coming out as a moan. Mark gripped at his side and pushed in closer to him before regaining his thoughts and pulling apart. Jack pouted at him while breathing heavily. "I'm sorry, but I have to show you something." Jack looked questioningly into his eyes, but Mark just gave him a lopsided smile and grabbed him around the wrist.

He tugged him out the back door, with only minor protests, and into the woods. Jack looked at him funnily when he saw where they were headed, but Mark ignored it. He smiled uncontrollably and slowed down as they approached the spot. He watched Jack's face closely, wanting to catch the first emotion on his face once he realized what was going on. It was worth it too, even if he did almost run into a tree and make Jack laugh at him, because then he turned his head and a small gasp left his lips. It looked even more surreal the second time and Mark was proud of the effort he had put in. Jack stopped and covered his mouth with both hands, then turned to Mark and laughed in surprise.

"You didn't." Mark nodded and Jack slapped him lightly on the arm. He dropped his hands and moved towards the place on the ground Mark had set out for them. "You did this for me?"

"Yes, but only because you deserve the entire world and I couldn't figure out how to give that to you, so I put a towel on the ground and made us dinner." Jack's arms were around his body the minute he finished his sentence. Mark laid his head on top of Jack's, running his fingers through the ends of his soft hair.

"I don't think I'll ever deserve someone like you," Jack said into the fabric of his shirt. Mark pressed his lips into his head. He disagreed, but he didn't want to ruin the moment. They swayed back and forth like that in the cool wind for a few minutes before Mark reminded him the food was getting cold. Jack laughed softly and took his hand. They sat down next to each other against the trunk of the tree and ate happily, watching the light dwindle from the sky through the breaks in the trees. "Oh I really needed this." He sighed.

"I know, I just wish I could lift all the pain out of that little head of yours." Mark tucked a piece of Jack's hair back. Jack laid his head onto his shoulder and sighed.

"I don't want him to get hurt." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I know you don't. And for your sake I don't either." Mark leaned his head back against the tree trunk and looped his arm around Jack's waist. "Dark left again." Jack turned his head towards him, stunned, his mouth parted slightly.

"Why?"

"We fought." Mark let his eyes go unfocused on the mess of tree branches.

"About what?" A small smile touched his lips.

"You." Jack blinked.

"Me?" Mark nodded, not entirely paying attention to the conversation.

"About you, and about him." Jack placed his thumb on Mark's cheek and pulled it downward slowly, then his arm drop to his side.

"Well are you going to explain it to me or what?" Mark's eyes snapped over to him and he readjusted his position to face him.

"He thinks he did the right thing, I don't. I don't believe him." Jack furrowed his eyebrows, now staring into his eyes.

"About what?"

"He cares about Anti, I know he does. But you know him, he's probably off being a little piss baby somewhere on his own. He's not going to do anything about Anti, so don't get your hopes up." Mark looked away from him again.

"You think he does care about Anti?"

"Most of the time, yeah."

"You know they've known each other for a really long time," Jack said, remembering what Anti had told him once. Mark turned his head back to him.

"How long?"

"He didn't say exactly, but a lot longer than we've known each other." Mark thought about that. He had suspected it, but to hear that it was true was a weird revelation.

"Do you know what they were fighting about the other night?" Jack frowned and shook his head. "I heard very little of what they actually said, but I remember Anti saying 'this is all your fault' and Dark saying 'why would I do this to myself?'." Jack sat up and turned his body to face him

"Anti told me once Dark sent him here. That's gotta be what they're talking about. God dammit, I wish I had heard what they were saying now." Jack released a frustrated breath and Mark reached out to grab his hand.

"You're right, that's gotta be it, but apparently Dark doesn't think so. He's got a point too, why would he be here then?" Jack ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know." He chuckled and shook his head. "You know normal people don't have these problems." Mark laughed with him.

"Yeah, must be boring." Jack nodded wistfully and smiled at him.

-

Anti was growing used to waking up in a heap on the ground. He still felt like utter shit though, and it was impossible to see in the dark. The only aid he had was the faint green aura he let off, but it was only barely there with his degrading health. He reached his hand up and wiped at his nose, his entire face was caked in dirt mixed with dried tears. A crack from behind him made his eyes grow wider. He had been able to hide himself the last time something had come close, but as he looked around he realized he was in the open this time and there was nothing to help him considering he couldn't even get up. All he could do was twist his body to watch as the wolf sniffed the ground and paced, edging closer to him. It let out an ear shattering howl and Anti flinched.

He was utterly unused to being afraid for his life, it was agonizing to be in such a weak position all alone. And suddenly its yellow eyes stared straight through his green, as if into his soul. His throat closed in terror, and he felt hopelessly stupid. It seemed to smirk at him, then let out a short bark. More rustling around him made Anti's heart skip a beat. He was the cat amidst a room of dogs. He curled in on himself and tried to maintain a threatening position, but it proved to be impossible and he collapsed to the floor while watching the pack close in on him. The wolves snapped and snarled at him, pouncing about the ground and sending dirt flying around their paws. Anti bared his teeth and threw his claws at the first to get close enough.

None were discouraged though, they laughed at him maniacally. He yelped at the feeling of teeth digging into his leg and dragging him backwards. He thrashed frantically to keep them at bay, but eventually his entire body gave out, and he was left at the mercy of a bloodthirsty pack of wolves.

-

Dark knew where Anti was based on the tug he felt deep in his chest. He had tried many times to throw it up and extinguish it from his system over the years, but it was an impossible feat. He knew why it irritated him so much, he didn't want an attachment. Not to anyone. He didn't feel things, that was just how he was.

He was back now at the very same cave he had been to before. Mark's words refused to leave his head. They circled there like vultures, preying on everything he had built up inside of him. It made him dig his nails into his palm and grit his teeth together in his mouth. He knew what those words meant. He knew exactly what that would entail, and he hated it. The longer he sat and stared into the dead ashes in the center of the rock floor, the more numb his emotions grew. He wasn't even sure what time it was, he wasn't focused on what was happening outside of his head. He was searching within himself, trying to find anything that would prove what Mark said true.

Memories began to play out in his head, ones he had forgotten long ago. He had forgotten what it was like to live back home, how happy he had been. For once he was starting to crack inside, and it was all because of Mark and his acid filled words. The only thing that could have possibly broken the entrancement was the web of pain that spread up from his foot and side. He bit down on his tongue in shock, screaming in the confines of his mind, but refusing to show anything but tranquility on the surface. The tug in the pit of his stomach grew so strong he stood up suddenly and stumbled to the side. He was able to walk just fine, despite the unbearable pain coursing through his body. He drug his nails down the cave wall, leaving white scratch marks embedded into it.

The pain peaked, blinding his vision, and sending the image of vibrant yellow eyes staring back at him. As suddenly as it had come, it passed, and Dark let his back slide down against the wall. He put his head between his knees and controlled his breathing. With each breath, he heaved another stone back on the tomb he had opened up. Mark was wrong. He had to be.

-

Jack was in pain. He woke up in the middle of the night gasping for breath and clawing at his torso. The sheets bunched up around him and he cried out, leaning forward into his knees. Mark was by his side in a second flat, but was dealing with a headache of his own. Jack screamed out, tears flowing freely down his face.

"What's wrong?" Mark asked, but Jack could not hear him. He put a hand up to his head, blinking slowly. His vision was blackening at the edges, like burnt paper, and he felt the numb ache on his foot and ribcage. Jack was shaking now, unable to handle whatever was happening to him. Mark leapt from the bed and picked him up bridal style, carrying him downstairs and setting him on the couch. Jack gripped the sides tightly and tried to grit himself against the waves of pain, but his small body was nowhere near strong enough. Mark's heart ached, filling with hurt for the one he loved, but his head was fuzzy and thoughts wouldn't comprehend. He didn't know what to do.

He flung cabinets open in search of something that might help, but before he could get anything together, Jack was screaming bloody murder and he couldn't stop himself from running to his side and crouching down beside the couch. The man was a mess of tears, mucus, and red marks on him where he had been trying to scratch away the pain. Mark cried with him, placing his forehead against his and hugging his convulsing body. It was torment to watch. Then it faded away and Jack's body grew still and his breathing evened out. His eyes remained closed and his arms hung limp, but it was the purest of blessings to not see him in pain anymore. Mark wasn't sure what was going on now. He shook Jack's shoulder as gently as he could and cooed his name softly, but got no response. A few more tears streaked down his face and he concluded that he had most likely passed out.

He looked down at the scratch marks, mostly congregated around the side of his torso and his ankle. Mark was taken aback, it was peculiar that he had been hurting in the same places Mark had faintly. With a gasp of realization he pieced together what was pretty obvious from the start; it was Anti. Anti was in this pain. His head fell to rest on Jack's chest, listening to the comforting beat of his heart.

It was only a few more minutes before he felt the presence behind him and turned to find Dark staring at him. He stood tall and intimidating as always, but there was fear Mark had never seen behind his eyes.

"He felt it?" Dark said. Mark nodded solemnly, still indifferent to his feelings about the other. "This would be what I was talking about. Anti is... 'dying'." Mark closed his eyes and tilted his head downwards.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Me? You still think I'm some hero?" Mark shot to his feet, eyes sharpened into a glare of such hatred it made Dark hesitate.

"You're pathetic." Dark tensed up, standing his ground. It was dead quiet until a small intake of breath followed by coughing made Mark spin on his heels. Jack sat up holding his head and Mark bent down next to him again. "Are you okay?" Jack nodded, looking past him at Dark.

"What's going on?" Dark smiled grimly.

"You don't wanna know." Jack met Mark's eyes with a wild look. He pushed him aside and attempted to get up using the couch for stability.

"Where is he?" Jack said, trying to move his weak body towards the front door. No one answered him and he turned around, a mad glint in his eyes. "Dark?" Dark shifted his eyes slowly to look at him, then disappeared without a word. Jack stumbled forward and cried out, falling thankfully into Mark's arms.

"I don't think there's anything we can do, Jack."

"What?" His heartbroken voice stabbed at Mark's insides.

"We don't know where he is, and even if we did, he's probably not somewhere we could get to easily. He could be anywhere." Jack's eyes closed and he dropped his head onto Mark's chest.

"I can't just leave him."

"I know, I just don't know what to do. For now, we have to wait until it's morning."

-

Anti did not wake up this time. He couldn't move an inch of his body, it was like nothing was there, and for all he knew nothing was. The wolves had abandoned him once they realized he wasn't worth anything to them, he tasted vile. Behind his eyes there was a thick blackness and he felt as if he was floating. He was suspended between dimensions, his own and Earth's. He knew he would've died if he was back home. His mind felt pulled apart and lethargic. He tried to ground his mind somewhere, anywhere, by focusing on where he thought his limbs should be. He urged his mind to work faster, blood to pump through his veins. It was now that he realized he was wishing for his heartbeat again.

He struggled for what felt like ages, pushing upwards and trying to cling to the last string of power he may be able to flush out. It was like the source of his energy was an agglomeration of cords and each had been severed. He searched for ages to find one that wasn't broken, but there were none. He gave up. He let everything he had tightened loosen, because he wasn't coming back on his own. He remembered them warning him about it, it would take someone strong enough to pull his soul back into the real world. There was one person he could imagine doing that, and it made him furious.

He would not count on Dark for anything. Not again. Anger spread red across the blackness like spilt blood. His thoughts grew more concise and everything began to pulse around him. Excitement filled him and poured white into the shape of his body. He tilted his head back and screamed. When he leveled his vision again, a figure was walking towards him. He knew from the outline it was Dark and he cackled, running full speed towards him. As he was about to touch him a splintering surge reverberated through him and he began to fall. His white form twisted on its own and lined up with his real body as he struck the ground. He shuttered as he came in contact with reality once more, the weight of gravity suddenly very apparent.

He opened his eyes and saw the morning sky above him. He was invigorated, but still weak. Upon examination his wounds had become long dark scars. He was able to sit up, stand even, though his bones cracked loudly. He spun in a circle, arms extended, beyond ecstatic to have the freedom again. He laughed loudly and moved into his shadow form, shooting upwards into the sky and billowing among the wind.

He had the sudden realization that he didn't know where he was going. He thought for a moment and angled himself to the west, towards his house. He felt he had something to prove, though he wasn't sure what, and despite himself he was clear-minded enough now to realize he couldn't leave Jack. Even if he was the worst protecter in the galaxy, he was still Jack's.

Home was far away though, and it would take him the whole day to get there if he was full health- which he wasn't. He still needed food if he wanted to fly for very long, and he was not keen on another accident happening. He was forced to veer away and stop to eat after just under an hour. He landed carefully on the bank of a river and transformed into a heron to pick a few fish out of the water. Once he had eaten he was back on his feet, flying again, but he was not able to make it before nightfall and forced himself to stop again overnight. He scared a bird away from it's nest and curled himself into it for the night.

-

Dark had never planned on helping Anti. He simply flew around the entire day, blocking all thoughts and feelings. He did not regret, he didn't second guess himself, he was confidence and power. He didn't feel the need to prove it, but he had the longing to cause harm. He could feel the ability on his fingertips and lusted for it. And the people were right there. All he had to do was land. So he did, right at the church. He strolled in the front entrance exuding arrogance, his fingers twitching and his smile unpleasant. There were very few people in it, but he didn't care. He wanted to do damage, in every way possible.

A nice lady greeted him with a faltering smile, silenced by the pink glow in his eyes. She held a look of shock and reluctance. Dark winked at her and walked on by, entering the main chamber of the building. He glanced over the empty wooden pews and sparkling stained glass windows throwing depictions of saints over him. He waltzed easily up to the preacher's lectern. He grinned and circled the thing, running a finger down the edge. Someone shouted that he couldn't be up there, but he ignored it. There were several large candles on fire lining the walls, reminding him that it was indeed a Sunday, though it was still early.

He blinked and walked over to them, his grin widening. He turned and took one last look at the faces of the people in the room with him, making note of the terror written in to their features. With a swift flourish of his hand, one candle fell. And the next. And the next. Until there was screaming and panic because the building was now on fire, lighting up like it was just one big candle itself. Dark felt a hand on his arm and bared his teeth furiously, turning and throwing the person to the ground before him. He recognized it as the preacher, which made the horror of the scene even sweeter. He closed in on him, watching him try to scoot away from him to no avail. It was useless and he knew it.

Dark laughed and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up to eye level. The evil within them was startling. His claws pierced the skin of the preacher like tiny daggers, each giving him the grip to close his fist completely around his neck, cutting off the air supply. He watched the light leave his eyes and his body go limp, feeding off of it and completely oblivious to the chaos going on around him. With one final glimpse at his work, he took off and flew away into the sky.


	14. Chapter 14

Mark and Jack both slept late into the afternoon. Mark woke up first, deciding to scroll through his phone instead of getting out of bed and wait for Jack to wake up. When Jack woke up half an hour later he turned around to find the other still curled up in bed with him and smiled out of content. Mark repositioned himself to face him, enjoying the pleasant look on his face. It only took a minute for the last nights events to sink in and the liveliness to drain from his face. Mark threw his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in close to his chest, tangling their feet in the process.

"It's gonna be alright," he said. He rubbed Jack's arm softly and felt him nuzzle his head into his shirt. "Shh it's okay."

"But it's not, is it? He's gone." Jack squeezed his eyes shut and gripped tighter onto Mark's torso.

"You don't know that," Mark said softly above his ear, kissing the side of his head.

"Yes, I do. Who's going to save him, Mark?" Mark hesitated, knowing he was probably right.

"I'm sorry." He laid his head on top of Jack's and moved his body even closer, trying to comfort him in any way he could. They laid like that for a while before Mark unfurled himself and took up Jack's hand, leading him out of the room and downstairs. "Let's have breakfast."

Jack shook his head, "Not hungry."

"Okay." Mark let him be from then on. He realized that he probably wanted some time alone to sort himself out. It was a weird thing, because obviously Anti was a menace and irritating, but he was part of Jack. They were two sides of the same coin and being around him every day for the last seven years of his life had made him used to his presence. Now that it was gone, he missed it. It was impossible not to and the idea of him always being out there, but never attainable was so unsettling. He would never know what became of him, where he was, and there would always be that one voice in his head nagging that he was still right there. It was devastating.

Jack sat around the back of their house, in the garden of dead plants they had never bothered to water. His knees were pulled up to his chest and a few tears trickled down his face. He never expected to be this attached to the bastard, but in the end he knew he was. He rested his chin on his knees and played with the stem of a dead flower by his side. He picked it up and held it in front of his face. It would've been so beautiful when it was alive, but not so much anymore. Now it was just grey and brown and had an odd smell to it. He let his arm fall again and the dead plant left his fingers.

He wasn't sure how long he spent in that position, but long enough that Mark came looking for him. Mark sat down next to him in silence, keeping an inch of space between them.

"I didn't know you even had a garden," Mark said.

"We don't take care of it." Mark nodded shortly and leaned back against the wall of the house.

"That's okay," he paused. "It's okay to let things go." Jack closed his eyes briefly and tilted his head down.

"But I don't want to."

"You don't have to yet. It's also okay to be sad right now, you deserve that, but make sure you take care of yourself too." Jack slowly turned his head to look at him, blinking away tears.

"Thank you," he said softly. Mark nodded and kissed his lips softly, then stood up and walked away. Jack went for a walk after that, wanting to be among the trees. It made him feel better knowing how much Anti loved the outdoors, it was like a piece of him did still exist. He looked up into the leaf-covered tree branches and felt the cool breeze against his face. It dried his tears and encouraged him to keep going. He fell into a sort of trance, walking slowly beneath the trees and admiring everything the forest had to offer. It felt nice.

By chance he stumbled across a large, glistening lake. It looked pretty reflecting the light from the sun low in the sky, even covered by a surplus of leaves floating on its surface. Jack took in a deep breath of the fresh air and sat down under a large willow tree. For some reason the grief had diminished some and he felt serene despite himself. It was almost as if he had left his body behind and was just exploring somewhere all his problems couldn't find him.

He watched the surface of the water ripple and bubble as bugs landed on it and fish tried to catch them. Something about the place felt familiar, but he couldn't place why. As the sun moved closer to the horizon Jack figured it was time for him to head back home. The light began to fade behind him as he walked faster now towards his house. He walked in the back door and found Mark sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in hand.

"You're back." He smiled. Jack returned the smile weakly and sat across from him. "Are you alright?"

"We'll see," he said. Mark stood up and walked into the kitchen, returning with another cup of coffee. "Thanks."

"Yeah, of course." Jack looked down into his cup and a large smile spread across his face.

"What?" He looked back up.

"Anti hated coffee."

"Hated coffee? Is he even related to you?" Mark's laughter faltered when he realized he had referred to him as if he were still alive. They fell quiet and finished their drinks, not in a real talkative mood. Jack stood from his seat and looked across the room to the window, seeing the dark landscape beyond. He was about to say something when a sudden noise stopped him. He paused and looked to Mark with furrowed eyebrows, who just shrugged at him. Scratching followed it along with a few more thumps, all seeming to come from the ceiling above them. Jack followed the noises with his eyes, watching as it moved towards the kitchen. His eyes widened as he realized whatever it was was heading for the open window. He had no time to react before a dark figure climbed down through it and dropped onto the tile floor.

Jack took a few quick steps forward, curiosity getting the better of him. The light in the kitchen was off, leaving him unable to make out anything about the person. He stood there stunned, feeling Mark's presence standing behind him. He didn't not know what to do, until a glowing green eye blinked open and stared at him. Jack felt like the world had exploded in the span of a second.

"You absolute asshole," he said, voice hushed over the silence of the household. The short laugh that came next confirmed who it was and he shot forward, crushing Anti in a hug.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, halfheartedly wrapping one arm around Jack. Mark turned the light on and Jack pulled back to look at his face.

"It's really you?" He was blown away.

"In the flesh, what's wrong with you?" Jack hit him in the shoulder and glared at him.

"Don't play me like that, I thought you were dead!" Anti hesitated and looked between the two, confused.

"You knew?" Jack rolled his eyes.

"How could we not? That was a hell of a lot of pain you went through."

"What are you talking about? How do you know that?"

"I felt it all, Anti. Last night I woke up to an unbearable amount of pain, so much so I passed out."

"I... didn't know that." Jack nodded and looked him up and down.

"How are you here right now?"

"I guess I'm stronger than you think," Anti said, smirking. Mark stepped forward and put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I think maybe we should let him sleep for a little." Jack looked at him and nodded, getting the message. Mark looked over at Anti timidly, then allowed himself to move forward and pull Anti in for a short hug. "We're glad to have you back."

Anti was shocked at first, but Mark didn't give him time to respond before pulling away. It made Anti realize, however, that Dark was not present, which he thought was weird. He didn't ask about it though, because he didn't care, and was more than happy to spend as much time as possible away from him. Anti gave the two a weak smile and started to walk away, when Jack reached out and held him back.

"I'll go with you." Anti rolled his eyes and continued walking. Mark understood that he probably just wanted to talk to him alone and sat himself on the couch. Jack closed the door behind him and watched Anti walk forward and touch the blinds on his window. When he turned around again Jack noticed a smile faintly on his face and he threw himself down across his bed. He sighed and closed his eyes, appreciating the soft bed and comfort of his own home.

"So what did you want to tell me?" He asked, sitting up and facing him. Jack smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I guess. I don't know, I was really worried about you."

"Yeah? You thought I was dead- did you mourn?" Anti snickered and Jack looked down, embarrassed.

"Of course I did." He shook his head wistfully. Anti leaned back and put his arms behind his head.

"You like me," Anti said, toying with him. "Just admit it."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get too ahead of yourself, I'm used to you that's all."

"You missed me, in any case." Anti's eyes shifted to the ceiling. "How have you and Mark been?"

"Good, actually. We, uh, we're dating now." Anti raised an eyebrow and sat up to look him in the face.

"Is that so?" He grinned cheekily remembering every time he had made a joke about it. He wasn't all that surprised, he had known it would happen sooner or later. Jack nodded and gulped.

"You aren't surprised?"

"Surprised? Hell no, I've been calling it since day one." Anti laughed as Jack realized what he was talking about and glared at him. "And that's going well, too?"

"Yeah, actually." He looked down at his hands and played with the hem of his shirt. "I think I'm in love with him." Anti sighed and laid back down on the bed.

"I think so too." He turned his head to the side to see Jack's confused expression.

"You aren't mad?"

"No, just... concerned."

"For me or for you?" He thought for a moment and turned his face back towards the sky.

"Me." And Jack easily understood why.

-

Making his may back downstairs Jack found Mark on the couch and leapt on top of him, kissing him passionately on the lips before he even had the chance to say hi. The man laughed onto his lips and pulled away slightly.

"Happy are we?" Jack smiled uncontrollably and rubbed his nose against Mark's.

"Beyond that, I don't even know what to feel. I thought he was dead, Mark." Mark smiled too.

"He's not." Jack squealed like a child.

"I know! I don't know what to do now, I'm all giddy." He ran his hands through the back of Mark's hair.

"I can tell. Well we can't go to bed obviously, how about some video games?"

"I'd love to, dear," Jack said, laughing and pressing one last firm kiss onto his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now get off of me, I'm setting up Mario Kart." Jack threw his head back and laughed before climbing off of him and settling into a position next to him on the couch.

-

Anti woke up in the middle of the night in a warm, cozy bed and thanked all the Gods he didn't believe in. He wasn't sure what had woken him up or why, but he was wide awake. He didn't know if it was because he tended to be more active at night or if old habits just died hard, but he was kind of annoyed at himself for it. For some reason he didn't want to be alone anymore. He had spent that last couple of days completely helpless and isolated, and maybe it was actually dying, but he felt weird to be up at night again by himself. It wasn't that he was scared of being alone, he still didn't fear things, but he felt uncomfortable with it. It reminded him of the woods and that was something he never wanted to remember.

In attempt to escape the feelings of loneliness he left his room and walked down stairs. He passed Jack's room and wondered if he was even in there or if he had taken up residence in Mark's room yet. He supposed he didn't know if they had moved into the same room or not, but it only strengthened the solitude he felt. The house was pitch black and chilly, it had that familiar eeriness that he loved. He went to the first place he thought of, which was the kitchen. He didn't know why he went there, he just felt like it and that was where he usually entered and left the house from so maybe he wanted to be near freedom. He considered making tea to warm up his insides, but didn't want to make too much noise, if only because he didn't want Mark or Jack to see him at that very moment.

He listened to his feet patter softly against the tile and put a hand on the counter top, feeling its cool surface. He turned around and slid downwards, sitting with his back against the wood. He crossed his legs and leaned his head back, focusing on his breathing and trying to appreciate the fact that he was still there. Alive, breathing, moving. Everything at once, because he had escaped death. He saved himself. It was both terrifying and gratifying to accept.

He remembered the day he left, the emotions he felt. The anger. It all seemed so distant, so far away even though it was really quite recent. It felt weird to think about the fight too, he didn't remember much of it after and it was still very blurry. He went into a blind rage, and so had Dark, leaving them to destroy the house and each other to a certain extent. He wondered how long it took them to clean up that mess and it made his lips twitch upwards for a second.

Everything that had happened in the past few days had taken a toll on him, and as he sat on the kitchen floor it all started to hit him hard. The fury he had felt weighed down on his shoulders and the weakness and terror from everything after made him pull his knees up to his chest. He sat the same way Jack had earlier that day, with his head on his knees and his hands wrapped around himself. He still felt that anxiety over what would happen to him, the feeling of being powerless in comparison to everything around him. The pain. He felt terrible that Jack had been forced to feel that too, but was positive he hadn't felt the full brunt of it. It was maddening and oppressive, just thinking about it made his scars pulse faintly. He pulled up his shirt and examined the long, twisting scar there. He placed a hand on it and a tear dripped down his face onto it.

He let his shirt drop back into place and lifted his hand to encircle his throat and the raised skin that laid there. Just another to add on to the collection. He wondered what he had done to deserve all of them. Dark had none, but maybe he was just smarter. Anti dropped his forehead onto his knees and tucked his chin in close to his chest. His hair stuck to his face and made it itch, but he didn't bother to fix it. He let everything pour out of him then and there, trying to push away his own disgust and let himself be miserable for the time being. He sobbed and choked and dug into his skin with his nails- all alone in the middle of the night.

He wasn't aware of the figure who stood over him. He had come in through Mark's window, but was drawn downwards to where he stood. He stayed a few feet away, looking on dryly. At last Anti lifted his head, tears streaming down it and not expecting to catch someone staring at him. His face was red and his eyes were puffy, and he immediately tried to wipe his face off with his hands. He looked so vulnerable and so pathetic it made Dark want to gag, but it also moved him in a way he was completely unfamiliar with. Anti looked away, embarrassed and repulsed by himself. Another tear fell down his face despite himself and dripped off his chin with a light splat on the ground.

He heard Dark take a few footsteps, but they weren't away like he had expected. Dark sat down next to him, a fingers width apart. Anti stiffened and sucked in a sharp breath, but Dark did not move. He lifted his hand and gently combed through the hair on the side of Anti's head that was facing him. Anti turned to look at him, more out of curiosity than anything else. He looked directly into Dark's eyes and for once, he saw something behind the layer of apathy and hatred. He saw safety in them, and with that his entire body relaxed and he burrowed his head into his chest. Dark wrapped his arms around him slowly, carefully placing them around his shaking body. His fingertips traced delicately over Anti's shoulders and arms. Anti collapsed into the warmth of his arms and the protection he had found within them. In that moment, it was all he needed and everything that he wanted.

-

It was almost morning by the time Anti sobered himself up. His eyes were still red and his throat felt sore, but he was breathing steadily. His head was lying on Dark's shoulder and his legs were spread lazily, bent up at the knee. He saw the light of dawn start to pour in through the window above his head and followed the rays with his eyes. Dark noticed and looked down on him.

"We have to go," Dark said, his voice demanding though his eyes said he would follow Anti. He stood up and held his hand out to him. Anti thought about it, realizing that leaving would probably be a bad idea and would upset Jack more, but in all honesty he didn't care. He wanted to leave again, if only for a little. He couldn't imagine what else he would do anyways, so he grinned evilly and took Dark's hand. They disappeared together into the sky, side by side.

When Mark woke up he didn't even realize that Dark had returned, and Jack let Anti be for as long as he could. He was used to Anti spending a lot of time away from him, but after being gone for so long he just wanted to barge into his room. Mark tried to distract him with pancakes and video games, and it worked for the most part, but they found that they had finished most of the games they had. Mark suggested going to the game shop as a way of getting out of the house, and Jack happily agreed.

Mark drove this time, putting all of the windows down and yelling over all the air passing through the car. Jack smacked him and told him he was messing up his hair. Driving through the town to the store they passed the church, or what was left of it. Jack gasped at the sight of the wreckage, causing Mark to look over and swear.

"What the hell happened there?" He said, looking over at Jack then back towards the road again.

"I don't know, holy shit. It's practically gone, it must've been some kind of fire."

"That's horrible." They pulled up to the gaming store and walked in. A kind looking man with brown hair greeted them.

"Hi, welcome! I'm Robin, is there anything I can help you find?" The worker smiled at them and Mark shook his head.

"No thanks, we're just looking around."

"Actually, what are some good games going around right now?" Jack said, laughing at the look Mark gave him. Robin laughed and rubbed his hands together.

"Ah, let's see. Have you played Until Dawn?" Jack and Mark both nodded. "Okay, how about Firewatch?" Both nodded again. "Okay, geez. You two get around."

"Yeah, sorry. We both play video games for a living." Robin's eyes widened a bit.

"Oh! I know who you are, I've seen some of your videos. Yeah, well just have a look around then." Jack smiled politely and nodded, looking around the shelves. Eventually they found a few games that looked fun and checked out.

"Do you know what happened to the church?" Mark asked. Robin looked up from scanning the games and nodded solemnly.

"Oh yeah. There have been a few weird rumors going around about that, but the police are just saying it was a fire from one of the candles inside."

"Rumors? Like what?" Jack said, looking over at Mark briefly with curiosity filled his eyes.

"Well," Robin leaned in closer. "I've heard it wasn't an accident. Someone walked into that church with a plan. No one had ever seen him before, it was like he appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared again. They couldn't find any trace of him inside either, just the burned body of the priest."

"The priest is dead?" Jack's jaw dropped at that casual piece of information.

"Yeah, you didn't hear about that? He got trapped in the fire and died." Mark made eye contact with Jack warily and cleared his throat.

"All right, well we better go. Thanks for all the help." He paid and grabbed the bag off the counter, clutching Jack's arm and pulling him out of the store. Jack looked at him worriedly.

"Do you want me to drive?" Mark shook his head and sighed.

"No, I'll be fine." They got in the car in silence and began to drive back home. Jack looked timidly at Mark, his eyes hardened on the road in front of him and his eyebrows knit together.

"What's on your mind, Markimoo?" Jack said softly. Mark met his gaze and relaxed slightly.

"A mysterious man who can appear and disappear? A deliberate fire, in a church? Don't tell me a certain someone didn't pop into your mind too." Jack sighed and looked down at his hands.

"You think it's Dark?"

"Yeah." He breathed. "I think it's pretty obviously his doing." His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

They reached home without saying another word. It was around 6:00 PM now and Jack noticed Anti still hadn't come out of his room. He walked up and knocked on his door then waited, but there was no response. He tried again, but it was the same thing. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned the door-handle slowly, opening the door quietly in case Anti was sleeping. All he found, however, was an empty bed and an untouched room. He let his eyes wander the place, not excepting that Anti would have left without telling him again after all this. It was beyond frustrating, and a much needed reminder that Anti was still a demon.

He let out an angry breath and turned around, going down the stairs. Mark was sitting on the couch, glaring at the T.V., which was showing the news, in front of him. Jack walked around behind him and watched as well. There were only a few minor injuries besides the death of the priest and the reporter was talking about how odd it was. Why hadn't the priest been able to get out when everyone else could? And how did no one see or help him? But that was that and he ended the program with a heartfelt condolence to everyone who knew the man. Mark stared at the screen for a long time after the commercials had started and Jack watched him, eventually reaching forward and turning the thing off all together.

"What am I supposed to do?" He said desperately, turning to look at Jack.

"Talk to him." Mark pulled at his hair, irritated.

"He's not like Anti! He won't just open up about those things, he won't feel bad about it he'll wear it like a badge of pride! Anti has never killed anyone, Jack." He sounded miserable, and Jack knew exactly how he felt. It felt terrible, like you yourself had hurt someone, caused someone's death, ruined their life. He sat next to Mark and rubbed him shoulder sympathetically. Mark exhaled and let his head fall onto Jack's shoulder. Jack began to run his hands soothingly through his red hair.

Anti walked out of the kitchen thirty minutes later and stopped dead in his tracks. Mark sat up and looked at him confused, he wasn't aware he had left, unlike Jack who's hard eyes stared into Anti's. Anti stared right back, both faces equally unreadable, and Mark watched from the sidelines utterly lost. Inside, Anti was cowering under Jack's glare, he hated when he was mad at him. But as was always the case with Anti there were several other emotions combatting that, one being anger at Jack for even questioning him. It was Jack though and he let a softness take over his features.

"Jack, I-"

"Yeah." Jack cut him off and looked down at the couch. It hurt Anti and he took a deep breath, then turned and walked away, withdrawing into his room for the night. This time he did actually sleep, because he was still low on energy and he hated it. He had spent the day flying around and stretching his limbs alone, ditching Dark the second the sun was in the sky. He still didn't trust him.


	15. Chapter 15

_Anti's eyes opened to a sky much bluer than he was used to seeing. He cringed and shaded his eyes from the bright sun then looked around his environment. Everything was so vibrant and blocky, unlike home where everything melded together under the fog and changed colors depending on the lighting. He was still in his loose, dark green tunic and brown trousers, capped off by his slender boots. There weren't any humans that he could see, and the concept that they were all around him was altogether foreign to him. He was nervous and shook a little as he stood up. His back still wasn't all healed and he groaned at the strain on it._

_He was at the outskirts of a town, amid a cluster of bushes, and the first thing that caught his attention were the big monsters on the streets. He had thought he knew a lot about life on Earth, but apparently there was some stuff you just never learned. He crept forward slowly, approaching the back of a house. The opening of a door made him jump to the side and bend down quickly. He watch the first human he had ever laid eyes on walk out their back door and sit lazily on a porch chair. He curiously watched the old man lift something to his mouth and let out a puff of smoke, staring out into the horizon. He assumed it was just past sunrise._

_He wasted no more time in moving away from the house and onto the sidewalk. Thankfully there weren't many people outside yet, but he still got weird looks from everyone who did see him. He didn't care all that much though and it definitely didn't slow him down at all. He would've just flown towards where his human was, but he wanted to take in the place first and experience human life first hand. It was so intriguing to him and at first he didn't fully understand anything really. There were so many things he had no clue about. He walked towards where the pull inside him was leading him, going in the right direction albeit slowly._

_It felt not right to be in this world, he wasn't used to its differences yet. It was harder to breathe and his bones felt heavier, not to mention there would be all new creatures here for him to have some fun with. He smiled at the thought. Briefly Dark crossed his mind and he wondered how he was doing with the change. He still felt as if he didn't belong here, and there was a longing in his heart that wished would go away. He wondered if Dark felt the same way._

_He neared the edge of the town and frowned, realizing that his was not in the town and he hadn't even needed to go through it. He didn't mind, though, because he assumed he would probably have to get used to it at some point. He made sure he was out of sight and took a running start into his shadow form. It made him ache for his wings back, but they had been ripped off as punishment. Even if he didn't think he deserved it._

_A sudden stirring in his stomach made him realize how anxious he was to meet him. The man he would probably live with for the rest of his life- unless he hated him, which he didn't think was likely. They were practically the same person, how could he hate himself? It was only a matter of time before a house appeared in front of him, hidden in the trees around it. He knew this had to be it, because the tug had moved up to his throat and he could literally feel his presence nearby. He wondered if he knew or how he would take it. What was his name? What if he had a significant other?_

_Anti landed a foot away from the porch and stared at the front door. It was a nice house at least. He shook all the thoughts from his mind and worked himself up. He took a deep breath and walked up to the door, knocking on it timidly once then a bit more forcefully. He heard footsteps from inside and braced himself. The handle turned and the door swung backwards, revealing the man he had spent so long speculating about. His hair was a shade lighter then his, but still green which made Anti smile hesitantly. The man's eyes widened and his jaw went slack, he took in Anti and let the door fall all the way open._

_"You're real?" Anti nodded confusedly._

_"Yeah. I, well, I'm... Hi, I'm Anti." He stuck his hand out awkwardly, something he had heard humans did. The man looked down at his hand and slowly extended his own._

_"You're me?" Anti laughed and shook his head._

_"Kind of, I'm your demon." He looked overwhelmed. He looked Anti up and down, pausing at his outfit._

_"I've seen you before- in my dreams." He chuckled at himself. "I sound like Cinderella."_

_"Who?"_

_"No one. Why are you here?" Anti sighed._

_"That's a long story I really don't want to talk about. I'm here now though."_

_"And you're here to stay?" Anti nodded and the man cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, well come on in. You can have some of my clothes too." Anti entered in awe, admiring every inch of the house. He decided this was going to be quite the experience._

_"Wait!" He called out, the man turned around and looked at him. "What's your name?" He relaxed and smiled._

_"Jack."_

_-_

Anti rolled over in bed and gripped tightly to the ruffled sheets. 

-

_"I want you to meet my friend," Jack said, walking up behind him. Anti stiffened a little, he had never met anyone besides Jack. "Don't worry, I think you'll like him." Anti nodded warily and was about to open his mouth when the doorbell rung. He narrowed his eyes and Jack smiled at him. Jack ran ahead to open the door and let his friend in. "Hey Mark!"_

__

__

_"Jack!" The two hugged and Anti peeked around the corner. Jack pulled away and looked back at him._

_"Come here, Anti." His eyes were so lively Anti wondered who this was that could change his entire demeanor like that. His friend took a step forward and smiled brightly at him, but Anti's entire world had just shifted. His eyes took on a wild look to them and he did everything he could to hold back the growl rising in his throat. "Anti? Are you okay?" Anti looked over at Jack and attempted to get ahold of himself._

_"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course. It's nice to meet you Mark." His throat felt dry and as he shook Mark's hand he felt every hair of his body stand up._

_"Mark has a secret too," Jack said, looking over at him expectantly. Anti took a step back, expecting what was coming but not at all prepared. When Dark's face appeared in front of him he started breathing heavily. Instantly the room was glowing in pink and green. Anti didn't chance a look over to Jack and Mark, who were now standing at the side of the room with worried looks on their face. Anti gritted his teeth at Dark's tormenting smile. He swallowed hard and cured his hand into a fist. He took a step forward involuntarily, eyes glued on the other. Dark laughed lowly, causing him to snarl. Anti launched forward and sliced at his arm and Dark lurched to the side, his own hand grabbing onto Anti's arm and throwing him down. Yelling filled Anti's ears and he looked to the side. Jack was looking around wildly, begging them to stop. Anti looked down at the floor, saliva dripping from his mouth, then left the house._

_Mark and Jack played it off as something all demons did. Anti never expected them to know each other._

-

Upon waking up Anti found Dark sitting at the foot of his bed, looking away from him. It took him a moment to orient himself then he sat up, earning the attention of the other.

"What are you doing here?" He said, his voice croaking.

"What were you dreaming about? Sleep like that won't help you heal."

"I don't need to heal," Anti said, snarling. Dark just smiled at him and looked away.

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Anti smirked. "Why don't you want to see Mark?" Dark frowned.

"He's angry with me."

"Why?"

"That's none of your business," Dark said, snapping at him. Anti was unfazed, it was his turn to smile wickedly.

"He's going to be even more furious when he finds out what you did to that church." Dark whipped his head around to look at him.

"You know about that, yeah?"

"Expect me not to?" Dark shook his head. "You did a good job with that one."

"Of course I did. Expect me not to?" He was grinning again and Anti bared his teeth playfully.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

"What about Mark?"

"What about him?"

"You killed someone, Dark. He's not going to sit there and take that in stride, he's going to hate you." Dark laughed.

"That priest died in a fire, Anti." Anti frowned and stared at him thoughtfully for a few beats.

"You walk all over him." Dark scoffed.

"He won't know."

"You underestimate him too. Whatever you're doing isn't going to work, it's Mark we're talking about here. He knows all the inner workings of your mind, he's you! You're lucky to even have met him."

"I wish I hadn't." He looked up angrily and Anti leapt up from the bed.

"You take that back!" He snarled and took a threatening step forward. "That's not true, you know it's not." He felt like in insulting Mark he had also insulted Jack, and it infuriated him.

"Since when have you cared?" Anti paused and remembered everything he had put Jack through, but he never failed to come back to him and in the end he did still protect Jack.

"I always have." He stared directly into Dark's eyes, hoping to see something reflect back in them. Dark had closed in on himself, however, and was just a blank slate. Anti turned and left the room, walking downstairs and making some tea in the kitchen because it had been a long time since he last had any. The clock on the oven read 9:27 and soon enough he heard the creak of Jack coming down the stairs. Jack slowly peeked his head around the corner, finding Anti sitting cross-legged on the countertops. Anti looked over at him then back down at his hands, half expecting him to turn around and leave. Jack didn't leave, however, he walked in and put on a pot of coffee then hopped up on the counter next to him.

"Hey," he said softly. Anti turned his head and smiled sadly.

"Hi. Are you mad at me?" Jack shook his head.

"I should have expected it, it's totally something you would do." He laughed lightly.

"What does that say about me?" Anti said, raising his eyebrows playfully.

"That you're a demon! Sometimes I think I forget that." Anti laughed with him, leaving a break in the conversation.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Jack smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I was so utterly confused. I opened the door and saw myself staring back, it was freaky."

"You said you saw me in dreams though, right?" The coffee pot dinged and Jack slid off the counter to get some coffee. Anti leaned sideways while Jack reached into the cabinet above him for a mug.

"Mhm. I saw flashes of your face and stuff, that was the only time I've ever seen your face in a vision like that." He sipped on his hot coffee.

"Really?"

"Yeah I mostly see things from your point of view." Anti nodded halfheartedly, something still tugging at his curiosity.

"Do you still have the clothes I arrived in?" Jack thought about it.

"Yeah, I suppose I do. I kind of forgot about those. Why?"

"No reason, just wondering. Can I maybe see them?"

"Yeah, I'll have to find them first." He walked out of the kitchen and Anti pushed off to follow him. They were in the laundry room hanging from a coat rack on a plastic hanger. Anti walked forward and ran his fingers over the material, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes. I don't know, my mom's still there."

"You have a mom?" Anti laughed and glanced at him.

"Of course I do, what did you think I just fell from the sky as a baby?" Jack blushed.

"I just never thought about it." Anti let his hand drop from the fabric and walked out into the living room.

"When do you think Mark will wake up?" Jack laughed.

"Not for a while. He's a sleeper." Jack sat down on the couch and Anti approached the window and looked out. "I know you probably haven't seen him, but Dark has been gone for days. Do you have any idea what he could be doing?" The tone in his voice hinted that he was searching for answers to another question.

"I'm sure he can take care of himself." Jack watched the back of him. He hadn't really addressed anything Jack had asked.

"I'm sure he can." Anti smiled and turned around, starting to feel the energy of the day come back to him.

"What are you doing today?"

"Working."

"No you're not, I'm bored. Let's go out," Anti said. Jack looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Yeah, yeah, go wake Mark up c'mon." Any other time Jack would have blatantly said no, but something in him had missed Anti's games. He grinned at him and stood up, leaving the room and walking into his bedroom where they had slept last night. Mark was starfished across the entire bed and it made Jack giggle stupidly. He ran forward and jumped onto his chest, leaning in close to his ear.

"Wake up sleepyhead! We're going on an adventure." Mark groaned and covered his face with his arm causing Jack to laugh loudly. "Up, up, up!" He pushed on Mark's chest and the man uncovered one eye to glare at him.

"Why?"

"Cause I wanna hang out with you." Mark rubbed his face with both hands and attempted to sit up, but Jack was still sitting on him.

"Well get off me then," he said and Jack quickly rolled off of him and stood up. Mark got up lazily and stretched. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," Jack said happily, turning and running from the room. Mark sighed and went about making himself look presentable, all the while grumbling about his overly-energetic boyfriend who got him up way too early.

When Mark got downstairs he was surprised to see Jack talking loudly with Anti, and when they saw him they both grinned and high-fived. For the first time he noticed how alike they actually were.

"What's going on?" Mark asked. Jack looked at Anti expectantly.

"We're gonna have some fun," Anti said. Mark looked at Jack in disbelief.

"Fun? I really don't wanna know what your idea of fun is, thanks."

"Ah come on, Mark, we're just gonna go for a little walk," Jack said, walking over and tugging on his arm like a toddler. Mark couldn't resist and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Anti gagged loudly and Jack stuck his tongue out at him.

"Actually a drive," Anti said. Jack looked up at Mark, pleading with his eyes.

"Okay, fine. Where are we going."

"Tell ya when we get there," Anti said, skipping out to the car. Jack shrugged and followed him, getting into the driver's seat. Anti was still stood outside of the car.

"Are you getting in or what?"

"Who me?" Jack nodded sarcastically. "No, I'm flying."

"No you fucking aren't. I am not following you in the sky, it didn't work last time and it won't work this time. I can't follow you when you're 200 feet above the ground." Anti whined and stomped his feet.

"Please?"

"No, get in the car." Anti growled lowly and got in the backseat.

"Seatbelt on."

"I can't even die."

"Wanna bet?" Anti glared at him as he put the seatbelt on slowly. He crossed his arms, squished in the back seat the entire drive, giving directions through gritted teeth.

"Turn right," Anti said, giving them the instruction at the very last minute so that Jack swore loudly and turned to look over his shoulder. Once he was around the corner he threw his arm back and flipped Anti off. Anti stopped them at an abandoned office building.

"What is this?" Jack asked.

"What it looks like. An abandoned building." Jack gazed at him skeptically.

"What are you planning?" Anti smiled and bounced past them into the building. Mark took Jack's hand and they followed him in, but suddenly he wasn't there anymore. They looked at each other confusedly and Jack shrugged.

"Let's explore," he said, dropping Mark's hand and walking forward into the first open door. Mark followed closely, getting plenty of bad vibes from the place. The room was covered in dust and falling apart, the ceiling had even collapsed in one place. Jack ran his hand over a desk then grimaced noticing all the dirt he had just got on his hand. He laughed and held it out to Mark who snorted and darted away.

"Ew, keep that away form me." Jack smirked and wiped it on his jeans, leaving a big streak.

"Ah shit," he said and tried to wipe that off, but it was no use. Mark laughed and shook his head, moving forward to inspect some of the molded papers lying around.

"It's kind of interesting to see all of this," he said. Jack nodded and stepped up next to him, leaning over the pile of papers he was carefully leafing through.

"I can't even read that."

"It says 'I'm working with MURKOFF Psychiatric facility in Mount Massive. It needs to be exposed'." Mark looked over at Jack and hid his smile. Jack's face dropped and eyes grew wide for a second before Mark burst out laughing and he hit him in the arm.

"Don't do that to me!" He relaxed and pulled the papers out of Mark's grip, setting them back on the table.

"Did you really think it said that?" Mark bent over laughing hysterically.

"No," Jack said sheepishly.

"I can't read it either, Jack," he said between breaths. "It's probably just some accounting shit." He finally stopped laughing and Jack crossed his arms.

"Jerk." Jack walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Hey, wait!" Mark ran to catch up to him. They walked up the old stairs and onto the next floor. This one was much darker and full of old cubicles. Jack walked up to an open one slowly and was lifting his foot to walk in when the door slammed shut in his face. He put his foot back down and turned his head towards Mark, who was giving him the same blank look. Jack turned back around and stared at the door, unsure what to do. Eventually he just backed up and fast-walked past Mark to the door into the stairwell. The handle wouldn't turn, though, meaning the door was now locked. Jack whipped around.

"What the fuck is going on?" Mark shook his head and moved closer to him. A muffled cackle from one of the other open cubicles caught Jack's attention and his eyes narrowed. He stomped away from Mark and into the small room. He surveyed the area, his eyes landing on the desk in the middle. He crept forward and ducked underneath it, grabbing Anti by his hoodie and dragging him out.

"You're all assholes," Jack said, causing Anti to break down laughing. Mark was watching from the doorway and let out a loud sigh, followed shortly by laughter. "What, did you take us here just to do that?"

"No, but it was worth it. You had no idea what to do." Anti sat on the edge of the desk and kicked his legs. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Get your fill then?" Anti shook his head.

"Nah, there's plenty more levels. Plus you haven't even seen the roof yet." Anti smirked and disappeared, his smoke not visible in the darkness but for the faint green glow. It was easy to see how they had missed him completely. Jack was fairly curious about the roof now and grabbed Mark's hand, leading him out to the stairwell door. Except Anti hadn't unlocked it, the bastard.

"Well how the hell do we get out of here?" Mark said. Jack paused.

"C'mon. We'll try the other side." They walked through the dark floor quickly, briefly looking into each room.

"The gamer in me is telling me I need to check each of these for secrets," Mark said.

"Oh God, please no," Jack said, shaking his head and laughing. To their luck there was another stairwell and this time it was unlocked. Mark stopped to look at the floor layout map within it and groaned.

"There's seven floors, I don't wanna walk up that many stairs." Jack pouted and looked over at him sadly.

"Please?" Mark sighed.

"Fine. Race to the next floor- go!" He took off, not leaving Jack time to process it and vaulted up the stairs two at a time. He of course reached the next platform first and waited, panting. Jack came up a moment later and pushed his arm.

"Cheater."

"You can't prove that," Mark said, giving him a pointed look. Jack laughed and ran a hand through his hair to fix it. As soon as he dropped his hands Mark stepped forward and ruffled

it. Jack yelped and grabbed onto his hands, laughing and leaning forward, pulling Mark downward into him. Mark shuffled his feet and put his hands on Jack's shoulders to stabilize himself then looked around, examining the floor through the window on the door. This floor looked exactly the same as the last. "4 more to go." Jack grinned madly at him then ran for the stairs, beating Mark to the fourth floor this time.

"Haha! Sucker." He stuck his tongue out at Mark, who slowed down to a walk while he climbed the last few steps.

"Alright, alright. That's enough of that, I'm tired." Jack nodded and looked out at this floor. It was just full of desks and computers. Jack opened the door and walked in, wiping the sweat from his brow. His first reaction was to sit in one of the old ripped up chairs and pretend he was working at one of the dead desktop computers.

"Damn, these are old," Mark said. Jack turned his head slightly.

"Sorry, I'm busy." He turned away and Mark smiled slowly.

"Oh, my bad. Is there someone else I can talk to?"

"Uh, anyone else here, can't you see?" Jack lifted his hand and gestured to all of the empty desks.

"Oh of course." Mark moved forward and sat in the desk right in front of Jack's. He rolled his chair backwards and leaned over his shoulder to face Jack.

"Hey are you busy?" He said, lowering his voice like they were actually in an office. Jack looked over at him and shook his head.

"No, of course not. Why?"

"I love you," Mark said, smiling at him. Jack laughed.

"Love you too." He stood up and walked around a little, glancing around at everything. Eventually they both left and continued up the rest of the stairs, none of the next floors were very interesting and they went straight up to the entrance to the roof. When they walked out the first thing that caught their attention was Anti sitting cross-legged on a short wall at the edge of the building.

"Took you long enough!" He said. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Not everyone can fly."

"Bet I could still walk up here faster than you."

"Oh yeah?" He walked closer to him.

"Yeah," Anti said, winking at him then sliding off the side of the building. Mark gasped slightly from the surprise of it, but he resurfaced as a black crow soon enough and landed on a raised section away from them. He shifted back to a human again and stood above them.

"Can't get me now!"

"Didn't want to," Jack said. He ignored Anti and walked closer to the edge to see the view. It was extremely pretty with the sun over the grassy field before them, but Jack was only focused on the height. He gulped and took a step back, squealing as he fell into Mark's arms. Mark laughed and walked him backwards.

"Why don't we stay away from the edge?" Jack nodded and turned around in his arms, giving him a quick kiss on the lips and plopping down on to the ground in front of him. He sat back on his hands and raised one eyebrow at Mark. Mark sat down next to him and extended his legs out.

"Life is good sometimes," Jack said. Mark nodded.

-

Dark watched from afar. Pink eyes hidden by the leaves of the tree he was in. Anti of course knew he was there, and was doing everything in his power to ignore him fully. Dark had never seen Anti and Jack interact, it was very different from how he treated Mark. He saw the way they were mean to each other, but only to a certain extent. He remembered the way Jack had looked at him when he thought Anti was dying.

He wondered if he was wrong, if Anti was right and he should try to reconcile with Mark. He had always assumed he was right, no matter what people said to him, but God Anti was different, wasn't he? The only person he had ever really trusted, but that was years ago. Surely he didn't anymore? He shook himself off and flew away under the cover of the trees. He waited until it was night to go back to the house, knowing that if he was going to show himself it would always be at night, when he was the most comfortable. He sat on a branch in the tree at the side of their house, waiting until he thought the time was right. Anti could feel his presence and it was setting him on edge, the unnerving feeling of something bad about to happen balancing over his head. He stayed close to Jack without him knowing, hiding as a tiny bug.

Finally Dark flew down from his post and entered the house, his feet passing over the tiles of the kitchen soundlessly. Jack could feel someone's eyes on his back and turned around sucking in a breath. All the lights were off, Dark's face only illuminated by the bouncing light of the T.V. that made him look all the more menacing. Mark was already on his feet, seething. Anti reappeared in the corner, no one really noticing him, but a smirk in place all the same. He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Get out," Mark said, grinding his teeth. Dark stopped and turned his head curiously.

"Why?"

"You know God damn well why. I don't want you anywhere near me anymore." The look in his eyes was what made Dark hesitate and wonder if he actually meant it.

"You want me to leave?" Mark nodded. "Forever?" He nodded again.

"You're no longer welcome here."

"What have I done that's irked you so?" Mark took a menacing step forward, standing his ground.

"Don't lie to me, Dark. I can barely look at you right now. A church, really? I'll admit that's so you." He spat the word, causing Dark to turn his head away. He knew.

"You've dealt with worse before have you not?"

"You're hoping I don't know what you actually did. You think I don't know that you killed that priest." His voice grew louder and louder.

"I did not kill him."

"Liar," Anti said, releasing a low growl and snapping his teeth. Mark and Jack jumped, surprised, and turned to face him. In the poor light his features were enhanced, the scar around his neck, his red fingers, and his fuming, glowing eyes. Dark remained still, eyes shifting to meet Anti's. He said nothing and the tension remained thick for a few minutes. "It's not the first time you've done it either." Anti's chilling words broke the silence. Dark looked into his eyes, pain shining through his gaze.

"No," he said quietly. Mark let out a small noise of shock and disgust. Anti stared at him.

"How many? How many people have you killed?" A hand touched Mark's arm lightly.

"Careful," Jack said. Anti vanished and reappeared behind Dark, close enough so that his breath hit the back of his neck.

"You always think you're right, don't you? But I think you're realizing now that maybe you really aren't. Does it hurt, Dark? To find out the person you thought you knew best, you don't actually know that well?" He had begun to circle the other slowly, picking at his claws. "You can't get out of it this time. You have to face it!" Dark spun in his direction.

"Not everything's my fault!" He stopped himself and took a few choppy breaths, dropping his head and hiding behind his red hair. "You're right about Mark, I see that now, but it's not my fault we're here." Mark and Jack watched on wordlessly, and Anti looked over at them. Jack caught his eye.

"It's not my fault either," Anti said. Dark looked up at him, pausing for a moment then nodding. Anti gave him one last look, then over to Jack, and left the house. Mark took a deep breath, unwilling to watch Dark do the same yet.

"How many?" He said, calmer this time.

"More than you know, but less than you think." He gave Mark a crooked smile.

"Leave."

"Forever?" The image of Jack's tear ridden face as he cried over Anti flashed before Mark's eyes. He returned the broken smile.

"No." And with that he was gone, leaving the two humans alone in their home. Jack laughed to relieve the tension and moved to turn the light on, but Mark reached out for his arm and pulled him back. He leaned in and kissed him lovingly. Jack pressed into him and wrapped his arms around his neck. He pulled back shortly, keeping their foreheads pressed together.

"I think this is gonna be our life now." He smiled uncontrollably and looked down at the floor. Mark tilted his head upwards and laughed breathlessly.

"I think you may be right."

-

Anti walked through the desert, feeling the warm sun on his skin. He enjoyed the escape from the house and the alone time that came with it. Lorelei walked beside him, smiling off into the landscape blissfully. Anti tilted his head backwards and looked up to the sky, the wind affectionately blowing his hair around.

"You fall in love too," he said gently, letting the wind carry his words as well. Lorelei looked over at him with a growing smile, but he just looked away.

He flew home soon after that, reaching the trees around his house quite quickly. A familiar figure met him in the sky, flying spirals around him. He spiked upwards, then dove downwards again, dive-bombing the roof of their house. Dark landed a foot away from him with a large boom and they heard the door slam open from below.

"How many times have I told you to be careful with the ceiling?" Jack said, calling out to them from the backdoor. Anti snickered and punched Dark in the arm. Dark looked at him sternly then leapt towards him. Anti was too quick, though, and Dark missed him as he vaulted off the roof and landed safely on the ground. He regained his balance and sprung upwards, flinging the door open and rushing into the house. Dark chased after him, into the house and around the living room. Anti cackled madly, zooming around Mark, who was arranging a vase of flowers in the kitchen, and shifted into the form of a mouse. Dark took on a cat and moved nimbly after him, ducking under tables and desks and making a mess everywhere they went.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jack crossed his arms angrily. "What did I just tell you?" They transformed back into their human forms.

"To be careful on the roof," Anti said, smiling playfully at him.

"Yeah, which means I just scolded you, don't make me do it again."

"You already are." Jack gave Anti a final look and he put his arms up in surrender, backing away carefully. "Don't have to tell me twice." He winked and took off again, Dark following closely behind him out into the backyard. Two strong arms wrapped around Jack and he leaned into them happily, looking over his shoulder at Mark.

"Don't get yourself too worked up over those two goobers," he said, kissing his forehead softly. Jack sighed and turned himself around.

"What are we gonna do with them?" He smiled and leaned his head onto his chest. Mark rubbed his back smoothly.

"You tell me." Jack was about to speak, but his words were cut off by the maniacal yelling coming from the other room and he pushed away from Mark. Mark grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back, leaning in to kiss his cheek but instead taking off in front of him and laughing hysterically. Jack put his arms on his hips and shook his head, then sprinted after him. He paused outside the doorway, looking around at Anti and Dark wrestling in the grass and Mark grinning at him from across the field. He supposed he was okay with this for the rest of his life.


End file.
